Elevated Bicycle Lane

LUKAS ARBÉN

Master of Science Thesis Stockholm, Sweden 2017

Elevated Bicycle Lane

Lukas Arbén

Examensarbete MMK 2017:111 IDE 293 KTH Industriell teknik och management

Maskinkonstruktion SE-100 44 STOCKHOLM

Examensarbete MMK 2017:111 IDE 293

Upphöjd Cykelbana

Lukas Arbén

Godkänt

2017-06-13

Examinator

Claes Tisell Handledare

Conrad Luttropp

Uppdragsgivare

Idesign AB

Kontaktperson

Johan Larsvall

Sammanfattning Stockholm är en stad med bra potential att vara en cykelstad. Trots förutsättningarna så är den inte det. Ungefär 5 procent av de dagliga transporterna i Stockholm var med cykel 2015 medan i Köpenhamn utgjordes 36 procent av resorna med cykel år 2008-2010. Säkerhet är det största skälet till varför folk avstår från att cykla. Studier har visat att separation av cykelbanan från annan trafik är den bästa åtgärden för att förbättra den nuvarande situationen. Uppgiften var att designa en upphöjd infrastruktur för Stockholm. Med detta menas cykelbanor ovanför marknivå. Målet är att minska trängelproblem och att öka säkerheten. Målet var att hitta en modulär lösning som kan anpassas på olika ställen runtom Stockholm. Om det skulle visa sig att en sådan lösning inte fungerar, skall en upphöjd cykelbana designas för en specifik plats. Det första steget var att undersöka situationen i Stockholm och det resulterade i tre stycken målplatser som skiljer sig från varandra; Sveavägen, Stadsgården, och Södertäljevägen. Om en lösning skulle passa in på dessa ställen kan målet med projektet anses uppnått. En design av upphöjda cykelbanor har en del viktiga faktorer som bör designas efter. Dessa är; den bör passa in i stadsbilden, måste samverka med befintlig infrastruktur, vara samhällsekonomisk så att dess nytta är relativ dess kostnad och främst, underlätta för cyklister. Att kombinera dessa skulle visa sig vara en utmaning. Efter undersökning visade det sig att på och avfarterna skulle vara den största flaskhalsen i projektet och slutsatsen blev att upphöjda cykelbanor inte kan anpassas till alla platser i Stockholm. Vissa platser är dock väl anpassade för att ha en upphöjd cykelbana. Stadsgården var en av dessa platser. Lösningen blev en upphöjd bana ovanför den existerande som är en cykelbana med mötande trafik. Genom att göra om den befintliga till enkelriktad blir den tillräckligt bred och dess problem kunde anses löst. Den andra trafikriktningen tillgodoses på den upphöjda banan.

Master of Science Thesis MMK 2017:111 IDE 293

Elevated Bicycle Lane

Lukas Arbén

Approved

2017-06-13

Examiner

Claes Tisell Supervisor

Conrad Luttropp Commissioner

Idesign AB

Contact person

Johan Larsvall

Abstract Stockholm has great potential of being a bicycle city, but in the present situation it is not. 5 per cent of the daily transportation in Stockholm 2015 was made by bicycle while Copenhagen had a corresponding 36 percent 2008-2010. Safety is the prominent reason to why not more people cycle. Studies have shown that separating the bicycle lane from other modes of transportation is the best measure in increasing safety. The task at hand was to design an elevated infrastructure for bicycles in Stockholm, in other words, a bicycle path above street level. The aim is to ease traffic congestion, as well as safety. The goal was to find a modular system that could be adapted to different places throughout Stockholm. If there were no such solution, it would be a lane specifically designed for a certain location. The first step was to investigate the cycling situation in Stockholm and this resulted in the choice of three different locations that differ from each other; Sveavägen, Stadsgården, and Södertäljvägen. If a solution could be fitted in all of these locations the goal of the project would have been achieved. When designing an elevated bicycle path there are a few main factors to consider. It has to fit into the cityscape, interoperate with existing infrastructure, be profitable for society to invest in, but foremost, it has to ease bicyclist enough to be worth their while to get up to. Combining these would prove to be a challenge. After investigation it was shown that accessing the bicycle lane would be the prominent bottleneck of the project, and the conclusion was that not every location in Stockholm would be suitable for this type of solution. Some locations are however well suited. Stadsgården was established as a location where an elevated bicycle lane design would be a good solution to its problems. The problem with Stadsgården is that the bicycle lane is not wide enough and that it coexists with pedestrians. The solution was to create an elevated bicycle path above the existing one, which is two directional. This would allow for the existing lane to be remade into one directional, thus making it wide enough.

Preface

This project started with the hope of designing an elevated bicycle lane that would ease cycling in Stockholm. This is something I think the project has succeeded in creating.

I want to dedicate a special thanks to some people who have helped me and dedicated time to my project.

I want to thank Teo Enlund for organizing the master thesis. I want to thank Dan Zenkert in helping me understanding different materials and giving me pointers in the important aspects of construction. I want to thank Mohammad Al-Emrani and John Leander for instructing me in bridge building design. I want to thank Joakim Boberg at Stockholms Stad for all the knowledge about cycling in Stockholm. I want to thank all my colleagues who reported their experiences cycling around Stockholm. I want to thank all the people at Idesign who have guided me and helped me during the project. Johan Larsvall, Klara Petersén, and Nils Löventorn. Lastly I want to thank my supervisor Conrad Luttropp for always pushing me in the right direction. Thank you!

Lukas Arbén

Stockholm, third of June 2017

Table of Contents

1! Introduction .......................................................................................................... 1!1.1 Background ..................................................................................................................... 1!1.2 Assignment description .................................................................................................. 2!1.3 Goals ................................................................................................................................ 2!1.4 Implementation: ............................................................................................................. 2!

2 Pre-study .................................................................................................................... 5!2.1 Transglide 2000 .............................................................................................................. 5!2.2 Hovenring – Eindhoven ................................................................................................. 6!2.3 Cykelslangen – Copenhagen ......................................................................................... 8!2.4 Skycyle – London ......................................................................................................... 10!

3 Locations and bicycle problems ............................................................................. 13!3.1 Stockholm’s Stad cycle plan ........................................................................................ 13!3.2 First-hand experience/bicycle diary ........................................................................... 14!3.3 Survey ............................................................................................................................ 14!3.4 Interviews ...................................................................................................................... 15!3.5 Video research .............................................................................................................. 16!3.6 Chosen problematic spots ............................................................................................ 16!

4 Bicycle lane measurements ..................................................................................... 21!4.1 Width of a bicycle lane ................................................................................................. 21!4.2 Distance of a standard block ....................................................................................... 21!4.3 Height above road ........................................................................................................ 21!4.4 Slope of a ramp ............................................................................................................. 21!

5 Manufacturing, construction, and mechanics ...................................................... 25!5.1 Structural stability ....................................................................................................... 25!5.2 Transport and manufacturing .................................................................................... 25!5.3 Bridge construction methods ...................................................................................... 26!5.4 Materials ....................................................................................................................... 31!

6 Wide concept generation ........................................................................................ 35!6.1 Wide concept generation ............................................................................................. 35!6.2 Evaluation ..................................................................................................................... 38!

7 Dividing the bicycle lane into sub concepts .......................................................... 39!7.1 Requirement specification ........................................................................................... 39!7.2 Lane type concepts ....................................................................................................... 40!7.3 Carrier concepts ........................................................................................................... 42!7.4 Elevation concepts ........................................................................................................ 45!

7.5 Lane concepts ............................................................................................................... 46!8 Sveavägen ................................................................................................................. 49!

8.1 Number of access points .............................................................................................. 49!8.2 Length of ramps ........................................................................................................... 51!8.3 Lack of space ................................................................................................................ 51!8.4 Disturbing residents ..................................................................................................... 53!8.5 Evaluation ..................................................................................................................... 55!

9 Stadsgården ............................................................................................................. 57!9.1 Stretch and access points ............................................................................................. 57!9.2 Placement of the bicycle lane ...................................................................................... 57!9.3 Construction concepts .................................................................................................. 58!

10 Final design ............................................................................................................ 67!10.1 Design .......................................................................................................................... 67!10.2 Construction ............................................................................................................... 70!10.3 Manufacturing and assembly .................................................................................... 75!10.4 Materials ..................................................................................................................... 75!10.5 Mechanics .................................................................................................................... 76!10.6 Cost .............................................................................................................................. 78!

11 Discussion and future development ..................................................................... 79!11.1 Discussion .................................................................................................................... 79!11.2 Future development and delimitations ..................................................................... 80!

12 References .............................................................................................................. 81!

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1 Introduction

The following chapter introduces the master thesis background, goals, and delimitations.

1.1 Background Stockholm is growing and with it the bicycle has become a more popular mode of transportation. From 1995 to 2016 the bicycle traffic quadrupled from 20000 daily to 80000 (Kajmats 2017). There are major incentives for increasing bicycle traffic in cities. It is healthy, it is a green and it is a lot more space efficient compared to cars. The infrastructure in Stockholm consists of a different variety of transportations. This means a lot of interaction between them. Pedestrians, cars, public transport and bicycles often have to coincide in the same space, which often time means difficult logistics, clashes and with a limitation on space, it is impossible to meet the requirements of all traffic needs, see figure 1.1.

Figure 1.1. Illustration of a street housing all desired modes of transportation, and the resulting width

(del 1, framkomlighetsstrategin 2015)

50 percent of the bicycle casualties occurring in Stockholm are due to car collisions (Wallner 2015). The next most common accident that leads to casualties is single accidents due to the harsh conditions bicyclists travel in (Wallner 2015). The resulting measures needed to be taken is considered to be separating the bicycle paths from the car traffic as well as keeping the bike paths clean from gravel and leaves. Stockholm’s cyclist per capita is relatively low compared to Amsterdam or Copenhagen, which has a widely built infrastructure for bicyclists. 5 percent of the transports in Stockholm 2015 are made by bicycle (Torell 2015) compared to Copenhagen, where 36 percent of the trips 2008-2010 were made by bicycle. (“Kobenhavns cykelstrategi 2011-2025” 2011). One of the major reasons people do not cycle are because of safety concerns (“Cykelplan” 2016).

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1.2 Assignment description The assignment is to design an elevated infrastructure for bicycles, that meaning to use road infrastructure in two levels. The assignment will be to design and investigate a product to ease congestion, traffic flow for bicyclists as well as the safety and overall experience for bicyclists. This will be done for specifically chosen spots in Stockholm. If possible the solution should be modular and adaptable to different locations in Stockholm. This product will also aim to ease the interaction between other means of transportation by separating them. The master thesis project will be done as ordered by Idesign industrial design consultant agency, which has got the assignment ordered by Trafikverket.

1.3 Goals The thesis project intends to develop a product that decreases traffic congestion, increases safety, traffic-flow and overall experience for bicyclists in Stockholm. The deliverables will be as followed:

• An investigation to understand the different applications of elevated bicycle lanes, its suitable locations, and its potential bottlenecks.

• A final solution that will be evaluated in terms of engineering and design. • A CAD design of the final solution that will be rendered into selected

environments.

1.4 Implementation: The following chapter presents how the project thesis will be carried out.

Method'

The thesis project will follow a design methodology, which includes the following: 1. Problem description: Defining the project, its delimitations, its purpose, and its

goals. 2. Research: A pre study will be made to investigate similar solutions/concepts.

Bicycle lanes and cyclist related matters will be investigated to find the focus of the project. Human centred design research will be conducted including interviews and surveys. The surveys and interviews will include cyclists (the users) in Stockholm as well as city planners at Stockholm’s Stad and other specialists in the area of infrastructure and cycling. Different problem areas in Stockholm will be looked at to define specific problematic spots.

3. Idea generation and evaluation: Through the gathered information from the research step, different concepts will be developed and evaluated. The concepts will be iterated over and generate new ideas and more in depth findings. The process may include sketches, simple CAD geometries, and physical prototypes.

4. Further development: The chosen concept will be further developed. This will include more in depth design on chosen specifics of the concept and a well-defined CAD model.

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Time'plan'

The thesis project will occur during the time period 25th of January 2017 to the 13th of June.

Delimitations'

The thesis question is extensive by nature, and this puts limitations on the projects possible outcome with the restricted time frame. The projects primary focus will be the investigation of what different solutions the thesis question will allow, and what aspects are of most importance to consider when designing. In other words, the main body of work will be the research and not the final solution. This will put restrictions on the degree of resolution the final design will have. The design will not take full consideration to solid mechanics. The solid mechanics will be based on existing knowledge in construction but will not be dimensioned. The project will be limited to a few appropriate selected spots in Stockholm that will be uncovered in the research.

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2 Pre-study

This section shows different elevated bicycle lanes. The different solutions are both concepts and some are existing.

2.1 Transglide 2000 Transglide 2000 is a proposal by Sustainable Transport Systems from 1997, see figure 2.1 and 2.2. It is described as a system that provides faster and cheaper travel than conventional modes of transportation. An interesting aspect is that it utilizes enclosed airflow/tailwind generation that will make it 90 percent easier to ride a bike while reaching speeds up to 40 km/h. According to their website, a bicyclist can ride 10 km in the system with the same amount of energy as 1 km outside the system thanks to the tailwind (“The future of mass transportation” 1997). This is because the air resistance comprise of 90 percent of the force resisting motion when riding at speeds about 30 km/h. The airflow is generated by 150 hp electrical fans and transported through air ducts in the system. An estimation is that eleven of these fans could provide the proposed tailwind for a distance of 16 km (Nadis 1997). The bike paths combined (both directions) are a total of 7,5 meters wide and has a 4 meters high clearance to the roof.

Figure 2.1. Illustration of the Transglide 2000 system

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Figure 2.2. Illustration of the Transglide 2000 system positioned over a street

2.2 Hovenring – Eindhoven Hovenring, see figure 2.4 and 2.5, is an existing cycling roundabout bridge in Eindhoven and is made by Ipv Delft. It was built because of housing projects that required the underlying intersection to carry more traffic and this resulted in the Hovenring.

Figure 2.3. The Hovenring in Eindhoven

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Figure 2.4. Aerial drawing of the Hovenring

The circular path way is 72 meters in diameter (Ipv Delft 2010). It has built in LED lamps in the railing to increase the visibility for night bicyclists. The ramps connecting the roundabout travel a relatively long distance, the longest being 250 meters with an incline of a modest 2 percent, resulting in a total elevation of 5 meters. There are six ramps in total and four entries/exits at the roundabout. It has gained a lot of praise for its design from the public and is now a landmark in Eindhoven. During its construction there were vibration problems in the cables, which resulted in a reconstruction. There are similar constructions in Stavanger, Norway for cyclists. There are also pedestrian roundabout bridges in for instance Lujiazui, China see figure 2.5.

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Figure 2.5, Pedestrian roundabout in Lujiazui, China.

2.3 Cykelslangen – Copenhagen Cykelslangen is an existing elevated bridge over the water that creates a shortcut for cyclists in Copenhagen, see figure 2.6 and 2.7.

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Figure 2.6. Cykelslangen in Copenhagen (D&AD 2015)

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Figure 2.7. Aerial photo of Cykelslangen

It is 4 meters wide and 220 meters long with traffic in both directions. The spans between the pillars are 17 meters. It has gained a lot of praise for being a joyful ride with a scenic view over the water while connecting bike lanes in a seamless matter. The pedestrians beneath can enjoy a more stress free environment without the disturbance of bicycles (Hoj 2014).

2.4 Skycyle – London London is one of the most dangerous cities to cycle in and that is what the Skycyle project intends to change. The Skycycle idea is a proposed bicycle network throughout London. It is a proposal by Sam Martin and Oli Clark at Foster and Partners as well as Exterior Architecture and Space Syntax (Rosenfeld 2014). The design has been revised into many different designs see figure 2.8 and 2.9.

Figure 2.8. Rendering of the Skycycle proposal (Rosenfeld 2014)

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Figure 2.9. Rendering of one design of the Skycycle project

The Skycycle is an audacious network above London’s existing railway tracks comprising of a total of 220 km, 200 entry/exit points and will include an area of 6 million people with half of those 10 minutes from an entry/exit point. The Skycycle project has met critique for being too expensive and that it wouldn’t generate enough gain to consider building it (Thayne 2014). Another critique is that the Skycycle will not take you from A to B and will eventually force you back on the road. Having separation between road users and cyclists might lead to an increased aggression and decreased education/awareness since there is an expectation that cyclists should use the separated Skycycle. More elevated bicycle lanes can be seen in appendix 1, Pre study, Elevated Bicycle Lanes.

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3 Locations and bicycle problems

When looking at bicycling in Stockholm there is a number of different problems that occur for cyclists and they occur at different places. This was examined using different methods, which are presented below.

3.1 Stockholm’s Stad cycle plan Online articles and studies were read on the complexity of problems in Stockholm. Stockholm Stad has developed a plan for the bicycle traffic, which cover the current situation, future plans, and strategies (“Cykelplan” 2016). Below is a summary of the relevant information from the cycle plan.

It is the incentive of Stockholm’s Stad that more trips in Stockholm shall be by bicycle or by foot. Stockholm’s Stad has made a series of measures to achieve this. They have made an inventory of Stockholm’s bicycle network, with the accompanied measures. These involve making it safer and easier for bicyclists to cycle. The goal is that 15 percent of all journeys in Stockholm by 2030 shall be by bicycle. Stockholm’s Stad has recognized that it is starting to become crowded on Stockholm’s bicycle network and this especially concerns the inner city where most bicyclists have their final destination. A study of the potential has been made and it concludes that the potential is very large. 80 percent of all Stockholm residents have less than 30 minutes by bike to their work place and within 15 kilometres from the central station, the bicycle is a faster mode of transportation than by car. With that fact in mind, traveling by bike is not as common as it should be which is due to 2 main reasons. One being that the public transport is well developed making it a preferred choice for some instead of the bicycle. Another reason is that Stockholm doesn’t have a long tradition of cycling. One example is Slussen, which has the potential of 100000 cyclists per day but experience 25000.

A change that has occurred the last years is that cycling during the winter is becoming more common. The season, which has its maximum of cyclists, is in June. An interesting aspect is that the use of bicycles follows a similar curve as car traffic meaning it also has its peak in June.

The most important aspect in choosing to cycle is how safe the roads are and how quick the link between destinations are, 30 minutes of cycling is considered an acceptable distance by Stockholm residents. When regarding safety, 12 people during the last 5 years have died in the Stockholm traffic, 7 of these because of conflicts with cars, and 5 of those in a right turn with heavy traffic. According to the police, 50 bicyclists are severely injured each year and 200 lightly injured. The most dangerous places according to the statistics are Munkbroleden, Skeppsbron, Londonviadukten, Götagatan, Sergels torg, Västerbroplan, Lilla Västerbron and the intersection St: Eriksgatan/Torsgatan. A study done by interviewing Stockholm cyclists determined that snow removal, sand removal, and conflicts with motor vehicles are the aspects that cyclists are the most dissatisfied with. The safety of cyclist is the single most important factor for the interviewed cyclists. 40 percent of single accidents can be related to maintenance issues and 70 percent of all accidents are single accidents. The foremost factor to improve this is skid proofing/decreasing slipperiness. These include snow removal,

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gravel, glass shatter and low wet friction. An interesting factor is that the perceived danger of accidents and feeling of safety is a big obstacle in getting people to start cycling. However the actual risk does not correlate with the perceived risk in many cases but it makes people disregard cycling and sometimes even push people to choose less safe roads for bicycling. The bicycle was in the 1940’s an important mode of transportation in Stockholm, but with the emerging of car traffic, the streets were transformed to accompany more cars. This makes it difficult to share space between cars, pedestrians and cyclists. This is a growing problem. In improving the bicycle lanes a priority of different modes of transportation will be needed and in many cases this means removing parking spots and traffic lanes for cars. During the winter, the time of travel increases with 30-60 percent and the average speed decreases from 22 km/h to 15 km/h. Illumination is an important aspect in both safety and the feeling of safety. It needs to be at a standard so that the road is shown at all times

3.2 First-hand experience/bicycle diary To fully submerge into the master thesis, the project member started cycling through Stockholm to get first-hand experience. This was made to get the experience of cycling in Stockholm but mostly uncovering problems and problematic areas around Stockholm. A bicycling diary was made to keep track of what was happening cycling through Stockholm.

Other than the project members own experience, colleagues were asked to cycle around Stockholm and report problems and other cycle related findings.

Based on both the gathered research and first-hand experience, a number of reoccurring problems were formulated. These were:

• Cars parked in the middle of the bicycle lane • The lanes are not wide enough • The bicycle path crosses the car lanes • Pedestrians walk into the lane • Cars drive too close to bicyclists • Car doors suddenly open into the lane • Unclear road signs and directions

3.3 Survey A survey of a total of 92 respondents was conducted were people reported their biggest bicycle related dislikes in Stockholm, the worst spots and why as well as if they had been in accidents and what had happened. The survey was posted in the Facebook group “Cykla i Stockholm”, which is a group dedicated to Stockholm cyclists. A few insights were gathered from the survey. To see the survey in full and an analysis see appendix 2, Survey analysis.

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Of the respondents over half of them cycled over 12 km per day but seeing as it was posted in a Facebook group where people are passionate about cycling this could be an effect of that audience. Of the accidents there weren’t many cohesive or similar experiences except that many were single accidents and that about 48 percent had been in accidents and some of them in multiple accidents.

The results from the survey were that cycling too close to cars was seen as the biggest problem, besides that, pedestrians and narrow pathways were big problems. Judging from the overall result the most important aspect is to separate the bicycle lanes from other modes of transportation. This is also what other research state as the most important measure (“Cykelplan” 2016). From the Survey, these were the top most problematic places to cycle at, see table 3.1.

Table 3.1. Survey respondents on the top most problematic locations in Stockholm

Location Number of complaints

Slussen 9

Långholmsgatan/Hornstull 6

Vasagatan 5

Sveavägen 5

Torsgatan 4

Götgatan/Götgatsbacken 4

Stadsgården 4

Arsenalgatan 4

3.4 Interviews An interview was conducted with Joakim Boberg, whom is a cycle planner in Stockholm Stad and therefore has expertise in that area.

Interviews with colleagues were also conducted. From the interview with Joakim Boberg, these insights were gathered:

• Many places in Stockholm are busy places. Different people/organisations have different interests that they want to protect. It is a constant compromise of interests (Boberg 2017).

• To later evaluate the project, it can be viewed as public welfare and society economics. How much good does it do for the money spent? Generally applicable to Stockholm, the places were the most interests are, the best public welfare it can generate but also the harder it will be to do it. Finding places where the public welfare is high but interests are low is an aim (Boberg 2017).

• It was defined that an elevated space could be used to circumvent different problems. These were summarized as; solve for congestion and improve safety, re-route cycle traffic at construction work, and to create shortcuts (Boberg 2017).

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From the interviewed colleagues these places were pointed out as particularly bad: Valhallavägen/Odengatan intersection, Sveavägen, Skeppsbron, Stadsgården, Munkbroleden, and Västerbroplan.

3.5 Video research To verify the problems concerning the gathered locations, video filmed cycling trips were done with a goPro and then later analysed.

This method was conducted in February when not many people were cycling or pedestrians were out walking. Therefore many of the problems that were mentioned could not be seen. To see the analysis of the pointed out locations see appendix 3, Video research. From what was gathered Hornsgatan, Sveavägen, Vasagatan, and Munkbroleden was especially bad. The most useful insight was that; most often many different types of obstacles and problems occur frequently in one stretch and mixed together. To clarify, few stretches had one particular problem that occurred once down one road. It was more common with many different types of problems occurring several times covering long distances.

3.6 Chosen problematic spots The local spots that were mentioned did in many cases coincide between the different methods, which were seen as a conclusion that these are the worst spots in Stockholm. One factor that needs to be taken into account is that the stretches that have the greatest bicycle flow also has a greater likeliness to appear as a problem since the more people that cycle them, the more people have the possibility to mention them. However, considering the fact that the aim is to solve for congestion and to serve as many people as possible, that is only a good aspect. Figure 3.1 show a map of the most pointed out locations.

Figure 3.1. Map over mentioned bad locations in Stockholm

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From the gathered information of all bad spots, 3 different places were chosen as focus areas. All the places differ architectonically from each other. If there were to be a solution that fit all these places, a modular solution would have been achieved. The chosen places are presented as follows

Stadsgården'

Stadsgården was mentioned as a bad place on many occasions, see figure 3.2. It is one of the main cycling routes in Stockholm with a lot of traffic flow. The bicycle lane is narrow and has many interactions with pedestrians. There are not many intersections, a lot of space to be used and have relatively few numbers of parties that have interests involved. During a measuring along the lane at numerous points, it was gathered that it varies in width from 3,55 to 1,94 meters. The bicycle path usually has measurements between 2,3-3 meters.

The bicycle lane had widths at about 3,25 meters from Slussen to Fotografiska. The narrowest stretch was along Masthamnen with approximately 2,3 meters.

Figure 3.2. Picture of Stadsgården

Sveavägen'

Sveavägen, see figure 3.3, presents many problems such as; car and pedestrian interactions, car doors opening in the lane, cars parked in the bicycle lane and more. It has a narrow bicycle lane on each side of the road, which is poorly isolated from pedestrians and cars. Challenges that occur are: it has many interests from different parties, it is limited in space and, it has the potential of disturbing residents. This location presents the hardest problem but also potentially the biggest reward. Similar stretches that pose the same problems, are similar architectonically, and that are common cycling routes are Vasagatan, Götgatan and Hornsgatan.

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Figure 3.3. Picture of Sveavägen

Södertäljevägen,'Hägerstensvägen'intersection.'

There is an intersection between Södertäljevägen and Hägerstensvägen that requires the cyclist to take a long detour to cross it, see figure 3.4.

Figure 3.4. Red represents the potential path. Black represents the actual path of Södertäljevägen

This location was regarded as the easiest to solve but it also presents the least public ease and is likely the hardest to pay off in society economic terms. To summarize the location; it is easy to claim space, does not have a delicate cityscape, and it only present one particular problem, which is an unnecessary detour that can be solved with an elevated space. See figure 3.5 for a picture of the location.

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Figure 3.5. Picture of Södertäljevägen at the Hägerstensvägen intersection

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4 Bicycle lane measurements

How much space the bicycle lane will occupy was critical to this project. An investigation was therefore made to find out the critical heights and widths as well as the appropriate slope to cycle in.

4.1 Width of a bicycle lane From Stockholm’s stad cycle plan the cycling network of Stockholm is classified into 3 different categories, see table 4.1 (“Cykelplan” 2016). These are commuter networks, main networks and local networks and have been given different guidelines in their improvement.

Table 4.1. The recommendations of bicycle lane widths for different standards

Lane One-way, low flow [m]

One-way, high flow [m]

Two-way, low flow [m]

Two-way, high flow [m]

Commuter network

2,25 3,25 3,25 4,5

Main network 1,5 2,25 2,5 3,25

Commuter networks are classified as 5 km or longer and have the highest flow of bicycle traffic. They need to be wide enough for overtaking, generous curve radiuses, and have a good line of sight. Commuter networks need to be separated from pedestrian and motor vehicle traffic with road markings, stone, trees, or a material difference.

4.2 Distance of a standard block By measuring different blocks, it was discovered that a standard small block in Stockholm is about 60 meters. That is the distance of which the slope has to begin and then reach the top elevation.

4.3 Height above road The minimum height for vehicles without needing a road sign warning is 4,5 meters in Sweden. Lower conditions occur but will always be marked with a warning sign according to Trafikverkets regulation SFS 2007:90. Compared to other countries this is one of the higher standard heights. When it comes to minimum height above pedestrian/bicycle traffic other heights are involved. By measuring cyclists it was concluded that 2,5 meters is the minimum height.

4.4 Slope of a ramp This section shows the study made on slopes to find out how different slopes affect cycling and to determine the best angle and distance for a slope.

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Measuring'slopes'in'Stockholm'

By measuring different hills in Stockholm and trying to cycle in them, a feel was made for how different slopes affect a cyclist. Kammarkargatan had about 80 cm vertical distance on a 1000 cm horizontal distance, when measured at the façade. That became a total of 8% slope, which in degrees is 4,6. An elevation of 4,5 meters with this slope results in a horizontal distance of 56,25 m, see figure 4.1.

Figure 4.1, Kammakargatan slope as seen on the façade of a building.

The same calculation with the same methodology was carried out at Götgatsbacken and the result was about 5,6 degrees, see figure 4.2.

Figure 4.2. Götgatsbacken slope as seen on the façade of a building.

A degree angle measurement tool was used to measure places around town, see figure 4.3. Götgatsbacken measured a 6 degree angle at one point resulting in a 10 procent slope.

Figure 4.3. Degree angle measurement tool

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Pålsundsbacken had approximately 4,5-5 degree angle resulting in an 8 percent slope. A summary of the streets and their slopes are presented in the table 4.2.

Table 4.2. Slopes measured at different locations in Stockholm

Street Slope [%] Slope [degrees]

Götgatansbacken 10 5,6-6

Kammakargatan 8 4,6

Pålsundsbacken 8-9 4,5-5

Stockholm is a city with many hills and that can be used to an advantage. If a cyclist cannot circumvent going up a hill the elevation needs to be cycled anyway. Cycling up a ramp beforehand then makes up no extra elevation. Using this to an advantage means that an elevated cycle solutions elevation doesn’t become a negative factor, it can even become a positive one if the elevated path circumvents extra acclivity.

The'mechanics'of'different'slopes'and'distances'

Different slope angles present different physical challenges. According to an article the different feel of slopes were estimated, see table 4.3 (De Neef 2013).

Table 4.3. The appeared difficulty of climbs

Slope [%] Description

0 Flat road

1-3 Slightly uphill, not challenging, like riding into the wind

4-6 Manageable hill that can cause fatigue over a long period

7-9 Starting to become uncomfortable for experienced riders, very challenging for beginners

10-15 A painful climb, especially when maintained for a long time

16+ Very challenging for all riders, maintaining the incline for a long period of time is very painful

The table is based on research from climbing enthusiasts, which therefore focuses on long distances and this brings bias into the grading. Therefore a steeper slope than the table shows can be considered manageable. Understandably it is a subjective judgement and not a science to grade the difficulty of climbs.

In the case of the elevated bicycle lane, the climb needs to reach a specific height meaning if the gradient is steep, the distance is shorter. The calculated work is the same weather it is a steep slope or a mild one. The only thing that matters is the elevation. However, the speed of the climb matters. Climbing at a lower speed but making the same distance requires less work. This is due to wind resistance. Wind resistance does not follow a linear relationship but a quadratic one meaning doubling the speed leads to 4 times the wind resistance force, one can therefore argue that a steeper hill usually is made on a lower gear and at a lower speed, and therefore

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require less work. However, comparing the work to overcome wind resistance compared to the work to overcome gravity, it is relatively small in comparison but by no means negligible (De Neef 2013). An interesting parameter is to investigate how the momentum into a slope changes the ease of the climb and how it will affect different slopes. The preservation of energy tells us that no matter the angle or the weight of the cyclist, considering the cyclist enters the slope at the same velocity, it will reach the same height. This is calculated on perfect conditions (no friction and no air resistance).

Considering the result from the mechanics calculations, the result is to have as steep and short hill as possible. This will mean a more difficult climb but for a shorter distance. This will not enable all cyclists to cycle however. Different cyclists have different abilities and it is important not to exclude any of those. This means the slope needs to be decreased until it includes most of the different cyclist is Stockholm.

Summary'and'conclusion'

• A steep angle is better than a mild angle regarding work when the same elevation is to be achieved, but if only slightly

• Velocity into a hill is not affected by the slope angle and is not related to mass. • The slope needs to include all cyclists in Stockholm; therefore it cannot be too

steep. • The best way to achieve a good ramp is to keep the elevation low, preferably

under 4,5 meters. All things considered, mechanics, and subjective experiences, a slope of 11 % is considered the absolute maximum. However a lower incline at about 5-8 % is preferred due to not excluding any cyclists of different abilities.

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5 Manufacturing, construction, and mechanics

To get guidelines in structural stability, prefabrication and pointers in bridge construction, interviews were had with different specialists. These were Dan Zenkert, professor of lightweight construction at KTH, Mohammad Al-Emrani, professor and researcher in steel and timbre structures at Chalmers, and John Leander, researcher and teacher in structural engineering and bridges at KTH.

5.1 Structural stability From the interviews insight were gathered:

• Stiffness is important when signalling safety, a wobbly pathway might be safe but will signal to the user that it is not and therefore the pathway might go unused (Zenkert 2017) (Al-Emrani 2017).

• Stiffness and resonance are most commonly the dimensioning cases for bridges (Zenkert 2017) (Al-Emrani 2017).

• The stiffness grows with the cube of the length, therefore finding the optimum length for carriers and decks is important (Zenkert 2017).

• Snowfall and snow removing vehicles will be the dimensioning load of the pathway. Heavy snowfall in Stockholm climate is calculated as 2 kN/m2 (Leander 2017).

• The most interesting materials in lightweight structures are wood, steel or composites in construction (Al-Emrani 2017) (Leander 2017).

• The maximum deformation should follow as L/400, which is a rule of thumb for bridges. This means that the elevated bicycle lane is not allowed to deflect more than 0,25 percent of its span length (Leander 2017).

• The dimensioning load for pedestrian and cycling bridges is 5 kN/m2, which is Eurocode (EU regulations for bridge design) (Leander 2017).

• Most bridges are made from custom-made beams to fit the design vision and the structural demands. However stockpile beams are much cheaper. Custom making beams depends on the length of the bridge; a longer bridge can sustain custom made profiles since a large quantity will make it cheaper. (Leander 2017).

5.2 Transport and manufacturing When it comes to manufacturing, the bicycle path can either be prefabricated or manufactured on site. Manufacturing on site requires shutting off the traffic, which leads to high costs by suspended traffic function. It is therefore preferred to prefabricate the bicycle path. However, structures such as pillars or similar need to have construction work done on site. It is therefore preferred if these structures are as few and easily constructed as possible. The prefabricated piece can either by flown in with helicopter or lifted in by truck; the latter is most commonly used. Helicopters can carry less weight and are most often seen as the transport method for lightweight fibre reinforced plastic bridges. The helicopters presented for this task in Stockholm have different carrying capacities. A helicopter firm in Stockholm, Stockholms Helikoptertjänst AB, has helicopters aimed

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for construction lifts with the capacity of lifting about 1,35 tonnes (Bygg/VVS). The carrying capacity of a truck with a crane is varied but considerably larger than helicopters. See figure 5.1 for Cykelslangen being lifted into place with a truck equipped with a crane.

Figure 5.1. A segment of Cykelslangen being lifted into place

According to the Swedish traffic constitution SFS 1998:1276 chapter 4 §17, the dimensions of a truck is limited to 12 x 4 x 2,5 meters by EU standards for a truck without a semi-trailer. With a semi-trailer the combined maximum length is 25,25 meters. Larger trucks can be driven but needs special permission and need to be under observation.

The length of a truck span does not limit the length of a span width. Two different bridge modules can be assembled on site and lifted onto the carrying structure.

5.3 Bridge construction methods The working principle of an elevated bicycle lane concept is the same as a bridge, therefore bridge constructing methods were examined and analysed. When constructing bridges there are important factors that need to be considered. First and foremost are compression and tension forces and the interaction between them. Other forces that act upon a bridge but usually in a far lesser extent are shear forces and bending moments, but that depends on its construction (Billington et al. 2012). The eigenfrequency and the stiffness play a key role in the construction of bridges.

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Although the structural integrity of the bridge usually is sound at the maximum deformation demand and can surpass that by long means it is important since the bridge will go unused if it is perceived as weak.

Bridge'types'

There are 6 types of bridges that are the most prominent in modern bridge engineering. These are the suspension bridge, cable stayed bridge, beam bridge, truss bridge, cantilever bridge and arch bridge. The following chapter will aim to explain the basics of each concept (Billington et al. 2012).

Beam%bridge%

The beam bridge, see figure 5.2, is the simplest form of bridge. It consists of a beam that is dependent of the height of the beams cross section. The higher the cross section, the stiffer the bridge becomes. The beam is subjected to both compression and tension. A variation of a beam bridge is a box girder, which has a hollow geometric cross section

Figure 5.2. Compression/tension illustration of a beam bridge (Billington et al. 2012)

Truss%bridge%

The truss bridge, see figure 5.3, uses trusses to distribute the force, most commonly done by triangular rods. The geometric cross section becomes high without adding too much material, which will lower the weight and make the bridge stiff. The different trusses are designed to be in either compression or tension. Trusses are naturally relieved from bending moments.

Figure 5.3. Compression/tension illustration of a truss bridge (Billington et al. 2012)

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Arch%bridge%

The arch bridge, see figure 5.4, is similar to a beam bridge. The difference being that the beam has the form of an arch. When under pressure both ends of the arch continually counteracts the force and thereby the arch is always under compression. Many materials have higher compression strength than tensile which makes this type of bridge ideal. By geometric reasons, an arch will deform considerably less than a beam with the same applied force. This increases as the height of the arch increases [Leander, John, 2017].

Figure 5.4. Compression/tension illustration of an arch bridge (Billington et al. 2012)

Cantilever%bridge%

The cantilever bridge, see figure 5.5, uses levers with the top ones in tension and the lower ones in compression. By using this system the levers are less prone to torsion. The bridge is called cantilever since it is simultaneously built from both sides of a pillar, effectively becoming 2 cantilevers balancing each other. The cantilever bridge usually has abutments in each end holding down the structure. The spans with the cantilevers are called cantilever spans and the middle one a suspension span. The suspension span in the middle is always hinged into both cantilever spans.

Figure 5.5. Compression/tension illustration of a cantilever bridge (Billington et al. 2012)

Cable%stayed%bridge%

The cable stayed bridge, see figure 5.6, enables the second longest spans of bridges. It uses wires, which are made for handling tension. These are used in relieving the roadway and affectively shortening the spans. The cables then transfer the forces into

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the high pylons. A cable stayed bridge needs to be equally balanced on both sides of the pylon. However wires are more susceptible to side forces such as winds.

Figure 5.6. Compression/tension illustration of a cable-stay bridge (Billington et al. 2012)

Suspension%bridge%

The suspension bridge, see figure 5.7, enables the longest spans of all bridges. It is dependent on anchorages where most of the load is directed. The suspension bridge is even more susceptible to side forces such as winds.

Figure 5.7. Compression/tension illustration of a suspension bridge (Billington et al. 2012)

Bearings'

A bridge span can either be fixed into the carrying structure or it has an ability to move see figure 5.8. This brings forth different solid mechanic cases.

Figur 5.8. Principle sketch of a fixed beam (up) and a free supported beam (down)

As a general rule, one can say that a fixed bridge span can be constructed such that the bridge can transfer its forces into the carrying structure and therefore be lighter

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and dimensioned for less. However this puts more strain on the carrying structure that cannot be able to move. It is common that the bridge is self-carrying, which often is done by bearings in which the bridge is mounted (“Bridge articulation and bearing specification”). It is also common that bearing relieve stress concentrations that occur at different loading scenarios of the bridge or thermal expansion. There are different types of bearings that allow different degrees of freedom. The bearings are usually mechanical joints or elastomer joints that are allowed to shear, see figure 5.9.

Figure 5.9. An elastomeric bridge bearing

Span'arrangement'

A span can have many different constellations. In beam bridges the most important ones are simple spans or continuous spans.

The simple span is an easily calculated scenario and a simple construction but is not as structurally efficient as a continuous span. The simple span is unconnected to all other spans, see figure 5.10. The continuous span will when applied with a force create bending moments in the other spans that counteract the force. In other words, the experienced stress is lower in the beam because the load is distributed among its whole length. The load at all supports is also shared between them.

Figure 5.10. Principle sketch of a simple bridge span (up) and a continuous bridge span (down)

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The continuous span is a cost efficient design but laborious in the structural analysis (Leander 2017). The cantilever bridge for instance is a version of a continuous bridge where the middle section is hinged together. This makes the spans connected but not to the same extent as a fully continuous bridge. It is however more easily calculated.

5.4 Materials The choice of materials play a key role in designing the elevated bicycle path, both in properties (tensile strength, compression strength and young’s modulus), in weight, in price, and in processing, and what designs different materials will enable. Table 5.1 shows different interesting materials and their properties, weight and price (CES Edupack 2017).

Table 5.1. Different materials and their properties

Material Young’s modulus [GPa]

Density [Kg/m3]

Price [SEK/kg]

Yield strength [Mpa]

Tensile strength [Mpa]

Compression strength [Mpa]

GFRP 15-28 1,75-1,97 e3

209-295 110-192 138-241 138-207

Low Carbon steel

200-215 7,8-7,9 e3

4,98-5,06 250-395 345-580 250-395

Concrete 15-25 2,3-2,6 e3

0,343-0,515

1-3 1-1,5 14-50

CFRP 69-150 1,5-1,6 e3

321-357 550-1050 550-1050 440-840

Oak (along grain)

20,6-25,2 0,85-1,03 e3

5,67-6,27 43-52 132-162 68-83

Different materials have pros and cons and will enable different designs.

CFRP%and%GFRP%

Both CFRP and GFRP have good strength compared to its weight but they are expensive. They consist of a polymer and a fibre. The fibre takes the load and the polymer transmits the load between the fibres. The method of manufacture can either be moulded or pultruded. In the case of an elevated bicycle path, pultrusion is the preferred method since it is cheaper. A positive aspect with fibre-reinforced plastics is that they require little maintenance. They are weather resistant and do not rotten or corrode unlike steel and wood.

Steel%

Steel is a natural choice for making bridges. It has very good material properties. It is strong, stiff, cheap, and easy to manufacture. The downside is its weight, and that it corrodes, making maintenance an expensive factor.

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Wood%

Wood is a popular bridge material and especially laminated wood (glulam). It presents the best properties. Laminated wood has good material properties, especially in tension. Laminated wood is also cheap, has a low density, and is easy to construct with. The downside is that wood is sensitive to moisture and will rotten if exposed (Leander 2017). The wood could however be coated to endure harsher conditions.

Concrete%

Concrete has many good properties. It handles very well under compression, is naturally stiff and weather resistant. The manufacturing method is moulded. Concrete is however heavy and most times require pre-tensioned steel constructions like armature or wires for it to achieve good material properties. For lightweight constructions, concrete is not a good choice (Leander 2017).

Deck'

The deck that will be cycled on has a few important parameters to consider. First of is the actual properties that is important for cyclists comfort. These are the rolling resistance and the wet friction. The bike ride needs to be as safe and comfortable as possible with the least amount of energy input. Some materials are for instance too bouncy or too slippery to be considered. A scientific paper published by Munich’s technical university (Hölzel et al. 2012) investigate rolling resistance among other properties measured on four different materials. These were asphalt, concrete slabs, cobblestone and self-binding gravel. The test was carried out on both new and battered surfaces for asphalt and concrete slabs to see how their properties deteriorate over time. The test included rolling resistance, measured in the rolling distance with the same energy input, as well as vibrations (the perception of smoothness) measured as effective values. A low effective value presents less frequent and less strong vibrations. The results are shown in table 5.2.

Table 5.2. The rolling resistance and perceived vibrations on different surfaces

Material Covered distance [m] Riding quality (effective values)

Asphalt (less used)

19,8 0,05

Concrete slabs (less used)

22,1 0,16

Cobblestones 13,8 0,57

Asphalt (battered)

15,6 0,10

Concrete slabs (battered)

21 0,18

Self-binding gravel

10,2 0,21

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The lowest rolling resistance, in other words, the least amount of energy input, was determined to be had with less used concrete slabs. However, the perception of vibrations (comfort) was determined to be less used asphalt. The deteriorated state of concrete slabs and asphalt presented different properties. Asphalt went down -21 % in distance and had an increase of 90 % in effective value. Concrete slabs showed a distance decrease by – 5 % and an increase of the effective value by 12 %. One can therefore determine that concrete slabs deteriorate much better in comparison to asphalt over time.

However, asphalt still presented less vibration in both states and concrete presented a lower rolling resistance in both states. Both cobblestones and self-binding gravel are far behind in performance compared to asphalt and concrete slabs. Another important aspect when it comes to the deck is how it will be manufactured. Concrete slabs are moulded into place (in situ) or prefabricated and lifted into place. Asphalt needs the use of a road roller to flatten and compress the surface. Asphalt is thereby more difficult to manufacture, especially if it were to be done on site. Other materials are however interesting such as an abrasive resin system. An abrasive such as stone is mixed with a plastic resin (a binder) such as epoxy (“External range” Resin Surface Limited). There is a wide variety of combinations that can tailor to meet different friction, smoothness, fatigue, or stiffness requirements with more. Epoxy mixed with for instance sand is a solution that is more flexible than concrete. It can be applied to any surface and be mixed with any abrasive/grit. This system tailors a surface for the desired properties and has better road quality than concrete.

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6 Wide concept generation

This section will present the starting concept generation which aimed to be wide.

6.1 Wide concept generation To start of the project, a wide brainstorming of elevated bicycle path concepts were generated in order to broaden the spectrum and evaluate different factors that need to be considered. These are presented as follows

Double'Lane'

Double lane, see figure 6.1, is essentially an elevated road following the city’s existing roads. It is symmetrically placed in the middle of the road. During intersections the lane need to be placed at 4,5 meters in order for heavy traffic to pass. The placement in the middle creates a minimal possible disturbance to residents living in nearby buildings. It does not cover sunlight from pedestrians.

Figure 6.1. Sketch of the concept Double Lane

Facade'Lane'

The Façade lane, see figure 6.2, is a one-way directed elevated bicycle paths mounted on the side of the buildings directly placed over the sidewalks. If the lanes are crossing the street, it will need to have the 4,5 meters height. This is somewhat problematic since it coincides with the windows of most buildings thus infringing on privacy of building residents.

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The facade lanes might be inflicted with legal issues concerning it is built on the side of private properties.

Figure 6.2. Sketch of the concept Façade Lane

Roof'Lane'

Springing from the fact that roofs in Stockholm are almost the same height, the Roof lane, see figure 6.3, is a viable proposition. The roof lane concept does not infringe on the residents privacy to the same degree as near road lanes do and they will be out of sight for most pedestrians. This concept requires longer distances for it to be worthwhile the effort of getting to the roof, which preferably will be achieved using elevators. The roof lanes might be inflicted with great legal issues concerning they will be built on top of private properties. Using the roof as a pre-existing infrastructure for the bicycle lanes provides great potential in creating connection points throughout Stockholm. Using the roofs can possibly also create shortcuts by not traveling in a network but using diagonal distances instead.

Figure 6.3. Sketch of the concept Roof Lane

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Tree'Lane'

The Tree Lane proposition, see figure 6.4, uses cables that are suspended from the trees and thereby holding up the bicycle lane. A restriction with this proposal is that it will not include all of the defined local problem spots but there are other problematic spots in Stockholm with surrounding trees, for instance roads such as Valhallavägen and Karlavägen, which both have parkways. Other areas could be parks such as Humlegården, Rålambshovsparken, Liljanskogen, Vasaparken and more. Utilizing the trees in parks will in most cases not infringe on peoples private residents. The proposition might bring a serene feeling to cyclists cycling among the trees and will provide a cycle experience that precedes most cycle lanes. Utilizing park areas can create a structure of cycle highways that connect the city at a number of points. It is doubtful if trees are stable enough for an elevate bicycle lane or if they are structured properly for it to be realizable.

Figure 6.4. Sketch of the concept Tree Lane

Construction'Lane'

Stockholm is growing, and with it comes a lot of construction work. It is not uncommon that bicycle lanes are occupied due to construction work, which often results in a redirection of the bicycle traffic into the motor vehicle traffic or at the sidewalk. Often times this is dangerous. The construction lane, see figure 6.5, looks at creating an elevated space during constructions that easily can be assembled at site, thus circumventing the dangerous rerouting of traffic.

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Figure 6.5. Sketch of the concept Construction Lane

6.2 Evaluation From the generated concepts it was concluded that the focus would be street level lane type of concept (double lane or façade lane). They are the most feasible to be realized and include the most problematic areas in Stockholm. The other concepts are either faced with greater legal or stability issues. There were a few common factors that need to be considered when constructing an elevated bicycle path. These are:

Ease%of%bicyclists%

The elevated bicycle lane needs to provide as much function as possible to as many bicyclists as possible. Reformulated, it has to be worth their while getting up to an elevated space.

Disturbance%of%residents%

Residents can be disturbed by an elevated structure that has the potential of getting to the same height as their windows.

Cityscape%fit%

The elevated bicycle lane has to fit into the cityscape

Price%

The structure needs to be able to pay off in society economic terms. It has to accommodate enough bicyclists and provide enough ease for its price to be worthwhile for society to invest in. If the elevated bicycle lanes carry on for long stretches, price will become an issue, which needs to be optimized by a cost efficient design.

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7 Dividing the bicycle lane into sub concepts

After investigation it was concluded that an elevated bicycle path consists of different key elements that interact. These are: the different entrance and exits solutions, the carriers for the bicycle lane, type of lane, and the lane construction. They were all developed and researched separately to later be evaluated and to look at how they correlate with each other.

7.1 Requirement specification • If the architectonical landscape requires it. The spans need to surpass a large

intersection, which is about 35 meters.

• One carrier construction must be able to break and still uphold the bicycle lane.

• The bicycle lane modules should be able to turn

• The bicycle lane modules should be able to lean in height

• The height from bicycle path to street level should be minimum 2,5 meters under pedestrian walk ways or 4,5 meters over motor vehicle roads.

• The railing need to be a minimum of 1,1 meters in height.

• It should be constructed so that it can be prefabricated.

• The cycle path should be 3,25 meters wide in one direction or 4,5 in both directions for high traffic flow

• The cycle path should be 2,25 meters wide in one direction or 3,25 in both directions for low traffic flow

• The lane width need to be adjustable to fit the architectonical situation

• The lane should meet the stiffness requirement with a maximum downwards deformation of L/400, where L is the length of a span

• The dimensioning load case is 5 kN / m2

• The ramp cannot surpass a 11 per cent slope

• The ramp should preferably be a 5-8 per cent slope

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7.2 Lane type concepts There are a number of possibilities when constructing an elevated bicycle lane. It can either be a lane carrying traffic in only one direction or it can be a two-way direction lane. The placement can widely differ regarding the situation, see figure 7.1.

Figure 7.1. Example of the lane placement in the middle of the street

OneHway'lanes'

The one-way lane, see figure 7.2, only houses traffic in one direction. By regulations it then needs to be 3,25 meters wide to be considered a commuter lane with high traffic flow. A positive aspect is that the interaction between cyclists is lower when the directions are separated.

Figure 7.2. Principal concept sketch of a one-way lane

TwoHway'

The two-way lane, see figure 7.3, houses traffic in both directions. By regulations it needs to be 4,5 meters wide.

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Figure 7.3. Principal concept sketch of the two-way lane

Compared to the separated one-way lanes this will require less structure and less combined lane width (2 one-way lanes result in a total of 6,5 meters wide)

DoubleHdecker'

The Double-decker, see figure 7.4, is essentially two one-way lanes placed on top of each other. This comes with pros and cons. The lowest lane is automatically covered by snow and rain, which eases cycling. The combined width of the lanes are 6,5 meters compared to the two-way lanes 4,5 meters.

Figure 7.4. Principal concept sketch of the double-decker lane

The lane will naturally be higher (the highest level at a minimum of 2,5 meters above the lower one) which will mean a higher climb and that possibly presents a problem. The double-decker’s height naturally brings beneficial structural aspects since height determines stiffness.

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7.3 Carrier concepts How the lanes are carried is an important factor since it affects the cityscape, the interaction between pedestrians and motor vehicles, but foremost the structural stability and how easy it will be to manufacture and construct on site.

Cable'stayed'

By utilizing cables the lane can be suspended using different points and pre-existing structures such as trees, house facades, road signs and lamp posts and more, see figure 7.5 for a principle sketch. By using previously existing structures, construction might be relatively easy. Cables are not very eye-catching/bulky meaning they will blend into the cityscape. Pre-tensioning the cables might result in too great forces and looser cables might result in lanes that are not stiff enough. When using existing structures, they differ from each other structurally, meaning it will be a difficult task adjusting every wire. Some structures may not be suitable for extra-applied forces.

Figure 7.5. Principle sketch of an elevated bicycle lane carried by cables

Pillars'

Pillars are the most common carrying structures for bridges. A simple pillar carries the structure directly beneath it. It will require foundation work to appropriately take the applied forces. This will require on site manufacturing that will obstruct traffic. See figure 7.6 for a principal sketch.

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Figure 7.6. Principal sketch of the pillar concept

Legs'

Legs consist of pillars on both side of the lane with a link between them that the lane will rest upon. This structure will be less prone to bending and require less foundation work than pillars. This is because the centre of mass will be positioned between the pillars. Relative to pillars, this will obstruct traffic less and therefore be more cost efficient. See figure 7.7 for a principal sketch.

Figure 7.7. Two different principles for the legs concept.

Shelves'

The shelf concept carries the lane at the side. This concept works like a pillar regarding compression forces but also has a bending moment to consider which in turn makes the foundation work larger than pillars. It can however be a good solution where pillars are an obstruction. See figure 7.8 for a principal sketch of the shelves concept.

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Figure 7.8. Principle sketch of the shelf concept

Scaffolding'

Using scaffolding like structures can reduce construction time and can be made with little or no foundation work. However the construction might not meet the stiffness requirement and it will likely feel unsafe. A customized scaffolding-like system that function on the same principles but is constructed such that it is much stiffer and aesthetically pleasing could be a viable solution. See figure 7.9 for a principal sketch.

Figure 7.9. Principle sketch of the scaffolding concept

Balcony'

Horizontal beams are built from vertical structures such as house façades. The lane will rest on these beams. The beams can be built on the same principle as balconies. This requires an environment with structures for the beams to be mounted into such as

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house facades or rock walls etc. The beams might either be constructed as cantilevers (such as balconies) or extend and be mounted into the other side (façade to façade), see figure 7.10. Using the façades will be complicated since every house is structurally different and might also present legal issues.

Figure 7.10. Principle sketch of the balcony concept.

7.4 Elevation concepts A concept generation for entrances and exits were made. These depend a lot on the existing infrastructure concerning the geographical spot, making some concepts more suitable for different situations. For the evaluation of these it was considered that a ramp is the best solution. It is preferred not stop riding and get off the bike to go through some extra procedure and that is the prominent positive aspect of the ramp. It is quick and it is easy. However they are subjected to major space issues. They can easily become too long. The ramps can be manifested in spiral ramps, sick sack ramps or straight ramps to fit the specific location, see figure 7.11.

Figure 7.11. Concept generation of different ramps

In a situation where a ramp is not suitable, a staircase with bicycle guides is considered a good solution. It is common practise that staircases need a larger plateau approximately every 8 steps to be safe. This is because if one were to fall, it will be to the next plateau, thus reducing the risk of harm. It is also perceived as unsafe if a staircase is too long without plateaus. There is a formula when calculating staircases, see equation 7.1.

Straight Spiral Sick Sack

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2 ∙ !"#$ℎ!"#ℎ!!+ !"#$%#&'"ℎ = 620− 630! !! 7.1

For normal stairs the angle is usually about 30-35 degrees. That equals a slope of about 57- 70 per cent (“Måttrekommendationer”). Concepts such as escalators, elevators, or ski lifts, and more are proposals that can aid the bicyclist by electrical power, see figure 7.12. These types of proposals likely make up for more space efficient solutions. For instance, the aid of a ski lift type solution will allow a ramp to have a steeper slope, thus reducing the length of the ramp.

Figure 7.12. Concept generation of electrical elevation methods

7.5 Lane concepts The lane is an important aspect of this project. Having a good construction will keep down the weight and price and enable longer spans, which results in fewer carrying structures. The architectural environment will put different demands on flexibility. The lanes should preferably be able to turn, lean in height and be adjustable in width if they are to be modular. The lanes should preferably be constructed with as few components as possible. Some concepts were disregarded, since they went unused later in the project but can be seen in appendix 4, Disregarded lane concepts.

The general idea is that a load bearing structure takes the load in the length of a span while a cross section structure carries the deck. Generally applicable, the height of the load bearing structure determines the stiffness. In a beam bridge, the stresses are always largest at the ends while the bending moment is largest in the middle. A load placed in the middle of the span is in most cases a larger strain than placed anywhere else along the span. The dimensioning case however is a spread load across the entire span.

Turning%

Depending on the architectonical landscape, the lanes need to turn. Sveavägen and Södertäljevägen for instance does not require turning. Stadsgården however is a bit curvy and requires the lane to be able to turn. The turning can either be radial or hard. Radial is preferred for a smoother ride and the radiuses should be as large as possible.

Width%change%

The lanes should be able to change in width. The reason may be to switch from one way lane to two way lanes or if the lane simply don’t fit at the location with the desired width. This is of course dependent on the geographical location.

Escalator Elevator Ski Lift

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Railings%

The railings can either be perfectly vertical, slightly tilted inwards or tilted outwards. The different variants have different expressions and different functions. Inwards express danger outside the railing. They are also space inefficient since it forces cyclist inwards the path, they have a tendency to feel safer than other railings. Vertical railings are neutral and are not as noticeable.

Railings tilted outwards create more of a connection to the ground level, and is space efficient because cyclist will feel more inclined to cycle near the railing.

Change%in%height%

The lanes need to be able to shift in height, either to become a ramp or to circumvent obstacles below.

Truss'

The Truss, see figure 7.13, consist of trusses on both sides of the railing with cross bars above it and below it connecting them. The trusses keep down the weight while making it structurally sound. The height itself is a contributing factor of its structural stability. This concept is the stiffest and most light weight concept of all and will allow the longest spans. By shifting the lengths of the rods, the structure will get the flexibility it needs.

Figure 7.13. CAD rendering of the Truss concept

Barrier'

The Barrier concept, see figure 7.14, has the railing as the load bearing structure. Having this constellation will minimize the height to ground since the deck can be relatively thin. The beams for the railings are not particularly limited in height meaning they can be high enough to become stiff. This will enable long spans. However, having railings as the load bearing structure will hinder access points. The entries could therefore only occur at the carrying structure, thereby somewhat minimizing the flexibility of the concept. Radially bent beams will enable the flexibility of this concept.

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Figure 7.14. CAD rendering of the Barrier concept

Beam'

The Beam concept, see figure 7.15, is among the most simple of all concepts. A beam below the deck placed in the middle is the load bearing structure. Cantilever beams on both sides of the load bearing beam are used as support for the deck. The structure is similar to the barrier concept but has the load bearing structure beneath the deck. This will make the deck slightly higher. However, entry and exits points can occur at any point with this concept. To enable turning the main beam will be radially bent. Different sizes on the cantilevers can reduce the width of the structure.

Figure 7.15. CAD rendering of the Beam concept

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8 Sveavägen

Sveavägen was investigated for its potential to house an elevated bicycle lane.

8.1 Number of access points How to enter and exit the elevated bicycle path are key to usability and a major potential bottleneck for the project. This was considered the most difficult assignment and likely where the project fails. This was due to problems concerning limitations in possible space, but foremost, the degree of ease for bicyclists.

A concept generation for access points was made for Sveavägen. In particular, the Sveavägen Odengatan intersection was looked at since it is among the largest for the street. An intersection requires trucks to pass beneath it and therefore requires an elevated bicycle lane of 4,5 meters. Figure 8.1. show ramps that extend down to the traffic islands in a curve. A couple of concepts were developed like figure 8.1. See appendix 5, Access points for Sveavägen, for the full range of concepts.

Figure 8.1. Example on how to enter and exit the elevated bicycle path at an intersection

A CAD rendering was made for that concept, see figure 8.2. The extension into the traffic field will allow cars with a height of 2 meters to pass under it, while heavy traffic can pass in the left most lane. This constitutes a great safety risk. Having an access point in the middle of the crossing (at the traffic island) is the concept that involves the least number of touch points for one crossing.

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Figure 8.2. Intersection with a single access point as a curved ramp

Figure 8.3 shows a rendering of access points joining both sides of the bicycle lane at ground level. Compared to the ramp in Figure 8.2 this one has two access points. Generally speaking, the more access points, the easier it will be for bicyclists to enter the elevated space. However more access points take up more space and will cloud the cityscape. It was therefore deemed that as little as one or two well-placed access points at a crossing are the best option.

Figure 8.3. Intersection with two access points, joining with the street level bicycle lanes

Placing the access points so that bicyclists coming from all directions use approximately the same amount of effort to access it is a good benchmark in designing. Having few access points will not make it easy for bicyclist coming from all directions to access and the result is that it might only be worth their while if it is to be cycled a longer distance. Otherwise it will pose no added value and the bicyclists might continue to use the ground level.

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Bicyclist does not have the same cycling routes meaning that an elevated bicycle path need to have entrance and exit points as often as possible along the stretch in order to allow for different routes. Access points at every block might be required. This is dependent on the geographical location. Sveavägen is a typical location where many entrances and exits are needed, see figure 8.4. The stretch is a total of 1,7 km with 14 access points if they are placed at every intersection.

Figure 8.4. The proposed stretch of Sveavägen (black line) and access points (orange dots)

8.2 Length of ramps With a slope of 6 % and an elevation of 4,5 meters the ramps cover a horizontal distance of 75 meters. With a standard block of about 60 m this will not be possible. If another ramp need to be accessed from the next block in the opposite direction, the distance would effectively be reduced to half a block (30 meters), meaning even less space. With a slope of the maximum allowed 11 % the ramp becomes 41 meters, which still is too long. It could therefore be concluded that ramps pose a problem if they are to connect to every block.

Elevators and staircases are good propositions when space is off the essence but they do require a cyclist to get off their bike and that is not desired. For a staircase with a slope of 64 per cent, the horizontal distance evaluates to about 7 meters.

8.3 Lack of space The touch point in which ramps need to access the ground will, in addition to being long, take a lot of space. One-way access ramps have the guideline of 3,25 meters in width for high traffic flow, which is difficult to accommodate at street level. The traffic islands for instance are not wide enough to accommodate a 3,25 meter wide ramp. The width of the ramp would need to be compromised in order to fit at street level. 3,25 meters are of course not necessary for a ramp but it is preferred. For staircases, elevators, and ramps, the staircase was deemed to be the least wide solution.

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The space the access points occupy counteracts the purpose of the elevated bicycle lane, which aims to save space. The access points will infringe on the car lane space, bicycle lane space, or sidewalk space. Only if the elevated bicycle lane can fully replace the existing bicycle paths, access points could seamlessly coincide at the bicycle lane, but this is unlikely since a bicyclists final destination is at ground level, which require bicycle infrastructure at that level. This means that there need to be a solution for ground level bicyclist to circumvent the access point coinciding with the bicycle lane which in turn claims space from either sidewalks or car lanes. By this argumentation the best choices for touch points are either traffic islands or sidewalks. Figure 8.5 shows an example of access points at the traffic island in the form of an elevator, this does not face the space issue regarding the length that ramps face but it does block the traffic lanes slightly by being too wide.

Figure 8.5. Concept of a single access with an elevator at the traffic island

Figure 8.6 illustrates another example of access points at the traffic island in the form of a staircase with bicycle guides at the side. The elevated bicycle lane is placed in the middle and is two directional.

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Figure 8.6. Concept of a single access with a staircase at the traffic island

8.4 Disturbing residents Having the access points on the sidewalk could be a potential solution, see figure 8.7. Sveavägen has a large sidewalk. By locating the entry at the sidewalk and placing the elevated bicycle lane directly above the existing bicycle lane, it was deemed to be the least space-infringing proposal. However, this is not applicable to every road since sidewalks differ in sizes. The downside with this proposal is that it disturbs the residents. Residents windows often coincide with the 4,5 meter elevation which presents a problem.

Figure 8.7. Concept of two one-way lanes with sidewalk access as staircases

Figure 8.8 shows a proposal like the previous, but is two-way directed. This will make up for a bit more complicated logistics, but is easier on the cityscape and does only disturb one side of residents.

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Figure 8.8. Concept of a two-way lane with sidewalk access as a staircase

To minimize disturbance, the solution would be to place the elevated bicycle lane in the middle, see figure 8.9. This was considered the best proposal due to a number of factors. It will not claim sunlight from pedestrians below. It has only one access point at every block while still maintaining relatively good accessibility for bicyclists. Having the lane two-way directional is preferred to two separated one way lanes since it is the minimum amount of construction and will not cloud the cityscape.

Figure 8.9. Concept of a two-way lane placed in the middle of the road with sidewalk access as

staircases at both sides of the road every other block.

The suggestion in figure 8.9 has access ramps at every other block on each side. This might makes up for complicated logistics for bicyclists, which might leave the

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elevated bicycle lane unused. An improvement could be access points on both sides at every block.

8.5 Evaluation After investigation and concept generation for Sveavägen it was concluded that none of the proposals were good enough to proceed with. All proposals had some drawbacks. It was deemed that the scenario in which an elevated bicycle lane works best is for long stretches where access points are only needed at a few locations along that stretch and where there is a lot of space. This most often isn’t the case since bicyclists have different destinations. Due to that fact it was evaluated that Sveavägen (or similar roads like Hornsgatan and Vasagatan) would be a difficult place to apply an elevated bicycle path at. A factor that decides this is that when roads have many crossings. Crossings create complex logistics, which require many access points and ramps to fully accommodate cyclists. If there are not many access points, the functionality for cyclist might suffer and will not be worth the effort of getting up to the elevated level. Only if the bicycle path is a network of long stretches will it be worth their while but such a system is audacious and improbable. It is however a viable solution. To summarize, it is a mixture of problems: lack of space, ease of bicyclists, disturbing the residents, and cityscape fit. Stadsgården on the other hand consist of a long stretch with not many required entry and exit points and does not have many intersections. Stadsgården was therefore made the primary focus of the project.

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9 Stadsgården

After the concept generation for modular elevated bicycle lanes constructed for Sveavägen. It was concluded that the location was not suitable. Stadsgården was deemed a better location and a concept genereation was made for that location. To see pictures of Stadsgården, see appendix 6, Pictures of Stadsgården.

9.1 Stretch and access points The first step in the process was to decide the different entry and exit points. Thankfully, Stadsgården does not have many important connection points along its 1,5 km long stretch. Fotografiska was determined to be the only important access point for that stretch, see figure 9.1.

Figure 9.1. The stretch (black line) and the entries and exits (orange dots)

9.2 Placement of the bicycle lane Two different concepts were seen as the best solutions regarding the placement of the lane. These were either above the existing bicycle path or mounted into the rock wall.

Although both concepts are viable solutions that add different value, the concept of a lane placed over the existing bicycle lane was chosen.

Concept'1.'Above'the'existing'lane'

The major problem with Stadsgården is that the bicycle lane is not wide enough. The bicycle lane is two directional. Making the existing lane into one directional, thus making it wider and constructing a one-way lane above it housing the opposite direction is a solution. Unfortunately, making the existing lane one directional will still not make it wide enough at all points. Pedestrians also continue to be a problem for the lowest lane unless it is re-routed to the water. Affectively this will become a double decker solution with the lower level at ground level. Having it this way will protect bicyclists at the lowest level from snow and rain. Since it is above the bicycle path it only needs to be 2,5 meters high, minimizing the length of the ramps. With this

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concept it is proposed to have straight ramps at Slussen and Londonviadukten and a spiral ramp at Fotografiska.

Concept'2.'Mounted'into'the'rock'wall'

The other solution would be to mount the bicycle path into the rock wall, see figure 9.2. This solution would be a two-way lane of 4,5 meters wide and 4,5 meters above the traffic. This concept is riddled with a few problems. It will be more difficult to join the lane to its access points. The extra elevation (4,5 meters compared to 2,5) is also a negative. It is expected to be more expensive than the previous; connecting the bicycle path to the rock wall will be a costly procedure that will suspend the traffic below. A short stretch of the rock wall is situated above the tramline to Saltsjöbaden. This line is driven by electrical overhead wires above it, which might become a problem for the bicycle path. The main driving force for this concept is the aesthetics and serenity of cycling at the rock wall.

Figure 9.2- Simple illustration of the rock wall concept

9.3 Construction concepts The remaining puzzle piece was the construction, meaning the carrying structure and the lane. Combining these part concepts together resulted in 5 different proposals. The aim was to generate a wide variety of concepts and then combine the positives into the final concept. The final concept was a version of concept 1 presented below.

Concept'1.'Truss'+'Legs'

Concept 1, see figure 9.3 and 9.4, consists of truss railings as the load bearing structure with cross beams carrying the deck. The advantages with trusses are that

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they are lightweight and strong, thus minimizing material costs. The carriers are constructed as V shaped pillars placed on rotational joints, this structure naturally withstands bending moments thus the foundation work does not need to exceed that far into the ground. It mostly needs to handle compression forces. The connection points of the V shaped pillars coincide with the railings at ground level on both sides. The bicycle lane is easily assembled on site.

The truss aesthetics were deemed to fit into Stadsgården well since it is an industrial looking area. The underside has lamps hanging from wires between the crossbeams.

While most other concepts need customized components, the truss does not. It can be built with of the shelf components. It also has the capabilities of the longest spans of the concepts. This will minimize the amount of disturbing pillars in the lane.

Figure 9.3. Rendering of concept 1 in Stadsgården

Figure 9.4. Rendering of concept 1

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Concept'2.'Beam'+'Legs'

Concept 2, see figure 9.5 and 9.6, is a combination and modification of the part concepts legs and beam. The lane is a double beam structure with cantilevers on both sides carrying the deck. The structures are made from steel. Like concept 1 the carrying structure does not need much foundation work. The legs works like a trestle whereas concept 1 is an inverted trestle (V shaped). The advantage with trestle pillars is that they can be placed and stand by their own weight whereas V legs need some sort of support at assembly. The connection points of the pillars unlike concept 1 connect at both ends of the lower bicycle lane. Having it this way was deemed to be unsafe for cyclist and it is better if they coincide with the existing railings.

Figure 9.5. Rendering of concept 2 in Stadsgården

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Figure 9.6. Rendering of concept 2

Concept'3.'Shelves'+'Barrier'

Concept 3, see figure 9.7 and 9.8, is using a version of the barrier concept in combination with shelves as the carrying structure. This concept will be subjected to larger forces and bending, which will require great foundation work. By slightly tilting the pillars out to the traffic and having the cantilevers thicker at the barrier, the centre of gravity will not be placed in the middle of the lane. The centre of gravity could be created that coincides with the pillar at the ground by these reasons but this will then inflict into the road or make the bicycle road below narrower. However, a light tilting could be allowed and makes the structure more balanced. A suggestion could be to have lamp posts illuminating the road as a balancing structure or wires mounted into the rock wall carrying road signs and lamps. This concept has the clearest design. The designs focus is to make a clear dividing line of the traffic and the waterway. It does so with a few means: by having the pillars on one side, by having the lighting source from the traffic side directing the attention to the water and by having a barrier as the load bearing structure, making that railing larger than the railing on the waterside. The different angles on the railings also state which side to focus on. This concept is easy to adapt to different widths, which is a requirement for the architecture of Stadsgården. The method would only be to change the length of the cantilevers.

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This concept will become the most expensive and most likely the heaviest. The barrier needs to be thick and the cantilevers will extend far thus making them higher.

Having the pillars on only one side will make it appear to hoover in the air and that might feel unsafe for cyclists beneath it. It has to have a clear expression of forces and stability to feel safe. A positive aspect is that the pillars take up less space for the bicycle lane below, however the pillars need to be larger and likely also have a shorter span width.

Figure 9.7. Rendering of concept 3 in Stadsgården

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Figure 9.8. Rendering of concept 3

Concept'4.'Barrier'+'asymmetrical'pillars'

Concept 4, see figure 9.9, utilizes pillars from both sides of the lane in combination with the barrier concept. The pillars are asymmetrically placed, which give an airy feel. The pillars will require more foundation work than previous legs concepts, but not as much as concept 3. The 2 barriers are box girders that carry the structure with cross beams. Lighting is built in to the box girders at both sides. The underside of the elevated bicycle lane is covered by sheets in a triangular shape, which also house the lighting source. This gives the elevated bicycle lane a more futuristic or modern feel, see figure 9.10. A noise absorber is placed at the side of the road effectively blocking noise while simultaneously working as a railing. A drawback with the box girders is that they have no natural channels for run-off water.

Figure 9.9. Rendering of concept 4 in Stadsgården

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Figure 9.10. Rendering of the underside of concept 4 with triangular sheets.

Concept'5.'Beam'+'Legs'

The last concept, see figure 9.11 and 9.12, uses 2 beams beneath the deck as load bearing structures with cross beams between them. The deck is made from concrete slabs. The material is made from weathering steel, giving it a worn industrial look. The underside has the same wire hanged lamps as concept 1.

Figure 9.11. Rendering of concept 5 in Stadsgården

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Figure 9.12. Rendering of concept 5

It utilizes the same V shaped pillars as concept 1. This concept is deemed to be similar in cost with the truss. It requires more material than the truss but is not as laborious to manufacture.

Evaluation'

The evaluation led to concept 1 as the final design. During the evaluation it was concluded that legs type structures as the carrier are the best option. This is because they are the most economical and easily assembled. The other concepts might have had better design values (especially concept 3) but this did not overweigh their negative aspects. This left 3 concepts as viable; concept 1, 2, and 5. The aesthetics of concept 2 was deemed not to be on par with the other 2 and thereby it was eliminated. The remaining concepts 1 and 5 are expected to be similar in cost. While concept 1 saves in material cost, concept 5 is labour efficient. What put concept 1 in favour of concept 5 was its ability to endure longer spans and that it had more of an expression of safety than concept 5. It could however be argued that concept 5 had a slimmer more appealing aesthetics.

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10 Final design

The following chapter presents the results of the final concept

10.1 Design When it comes to designing an elevated bicycle path for Stadsgården, it became clear that there is a main focus. Stadsgården has the potential of being a location buzzing with city life considering it is located at the water with a beautiful view over Stockholm. At its current state it is not however. It mainly consists of parking lots, and a gate for the ferries but most importantly a highly trafficked road. On the other side of the road there is a rock wall and there is no need in making a connection between the water and that side of the road. Therefore separating the road at the bicycle path as much as possible is a good way to add value to Stadsgården.

The final design is a combination of truss barrier, noise absorbers, V pillars and painted angled railings. See figure 10.1 and 10.2.

Figure 10.1. A segment of the final design

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Figure 10.2. The final design as seen from an isometric view

Lighting'

To illuminate for night-time cyclists, lamps are mounted on both levels. The lighting beneath the deck is done by wire hanged lamps, see figure 10.3.

Figure 10.3. Lighting beneath the deck

The illumination on top deck is done by the railing. The railing is slightly tilted towards the pathway, see figure 10.4. The lamps are chained fluorescent tube lamps inside the railing.

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Figure 10.4. The light in the railing

Railing'and'noise'barriers'

An angled railing creates a spacious feel and is inviting to cycle near. This will invite the cyclists to cycle at the water most side. The other side will as well as an angled railing have a screen in expanded metal that will isolate the cyclist from the road. This will work as noise barriers but also as visual barriers. It is chosen to be expanded metal to not completely block of visual contact since that can have an unsafe impression of hearing vehicle sounds but not seeing them, see figure 10.5. Noise absorbers will also be installed at the lower level and will also function as a railing, see figure 10.6

Figure 10.5. Noise barriers

Traffic'direction'

The traffic direction is proposed to go in the Slussen direction by two reasons. The foremost reason is because morning traffic has a tendency to go inwards the city and

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will have a traffic flow that is centred more on a specific time. The elevated bicycle lane will be wider and safer than the lane below making it more suitable for the Slussen direction. The other reason is that cycling at the right most side is common practise in traffic situations and being nearest the water, it makes up for a more pleasant ride.

Cityscape'Fit'

Stadsgården has a harsh cityscape with old warehouses, industrial docks, and a ferry gate. Therefore it was deemed fitting with a truss structure since it expresses function and fits into that landscape. See figure 10.6 for a rendering in the Stadsgården environment.

Figure 10.6. Rendering in the Stadsgården environment

10.2 Construction Being a long elevated bicycle lane, it is important to ease assembly and manufacturing as much as possible to in the long run save on costs.

Pillars'

The pillars are 2 steel tubes ordered in the shape of a V. They are connected together at the bottom by welding and then cast into a concrete block. On the top of the pillars are 2 rotational joints that allow the bicycle lane to work as a continuous bridge, see figure 10.7.

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Figur 10.7. The rotational joints that connect the lane

Having 2 pillars on both sides as well as the V constellation will relieve the lane from bending moments. The ground is only subjected to compression, which results in a shallow foundation. The onsite construction work is therefore greatly reduced.

Rain'and'snow'runHoff'

At snowfall it is important that snow-removing vehicles will be able to clear snow from the bicycle lane. Rain need to naturally run off and have channels where it will be led. The run-off channels are situated between the railings and the truss, see figure 10.8. The deck is cambered meaning it is slightly curved to allow water to naturally run off.

Figure 10.8. The final design as seen from above

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Deck'

The deck construction was deemed to be either prefabricated concrete slabs or a resin abrasive sheet metal solution. The choice went to steel abrasive solution since it is lighter, thinner, and can be adapted to desired road performance. The proposed system is an epoxy and sand mixture. It is expected that it is easier to adapt this system to turns, width changes, and the slightly cambered deck.

Turn'

Stadsgården has a few harsh turns and a few mild ones. It is meant that the edge of the lane follows the curb line below. The bicycle path can turn by shifting the length of the rods, see figure 10.9. This is accomplished by having one side of a truss section slightly longer than the other. With this construction any degree of turn can be accomplished.

Figure 10.9. CAD geometry principle of the turning

Width'

Stadsgården has a few sections were the width is compromised. Fotografiska for instance is a passage where the bicycle lane needs become slightly narrower. The width of the bicycle path needs to be able to change. This is done by reducing the length of the crossbeams and the cross braces, see figure 10.10.

Figure 10.10. Width change illustrations (bicycle path as seen from above)

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Spiral'ramp'

In order to enable a spiral ramp to access the bicycle lane at Fotografiska, one of the truss sides need to be removed for the entry point. The spiral ramp should be 3,25 meters, which is the standard for low flow traffic for two-way lanes. The broken of railing will compromise the structure. Pillars below it will solve that problem.

Ramps'

The 2 straight ramps proposed are in both ends of the stretch. This requires the elevated bicycle path to lean in height. This is done by having a radial bend on the top and bottom most rods. The diagonal and vertical rods stay the same height.

By having 3 spans as the ramp distance it results in a total of 34,5 meters. With a rise of 2,5 meters the angle become approximately 4 degrees or 7 per cent, which is a good cycling angle. The last pillar will due to the steep angle only have a simple pillar rather than a V shaped one. See figure 10.11 for a principle sketch.

Figure 10.11. Ramp constellation with a 7 per cent rise resulting in a total length of 34,5 meters

The absolute end has a concrete ramp aligning with the elevated bicycle lane, see figure 10.12.

Figur 10.12. The bicycle lanes exit point

Noise'barriers'

Noise barriers will be installed on both levels of cycling at the road most side. It works as shown in figure 10.13.

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Figure 10.13. principle sketch of the noise barriers

The noise barriers are proposed to be expanded metal, which only partly blocks the vision, see figure 10.14. It is doubtful if the amount of noise reduction will be high enough, so a compliment could be to combine it with an acrylic PMMA sheet.

Figure 10.14. Expanded metal

Weight'

By taking the volume from the CAD model, an estimate could be made of the weight of one lane segment, see table 10.1. The dimensions of the beams are approximates and the profile thicknesses are not calculated. Therefore there is a large margin of error for the total volume. However, it is still an interesting estimate.

Tabell 10.1. The included parts of one lane segment and their volumes

Part Number Volume [m3] Total [m3]

Truss 2 0,2 0,4

Cross beam 16 0,02 0,32

Deck 1 0,05 0,5

Cross brace 8 0,005 0,04

Railing 2 0,03 0,06

Total volume 1,32

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The weight of steel is 7,8-7,9 103 kg/m3 resulting in a total weight of 10,5 tonnes. The real weight is expected to be lighter. Compared to the dimensioning load which is 5 kN/m2, it results in a total applied weight of approximately 18,6 tonnes.

10.3 Manufacturing and assembly The construction is made from welded hollow profiles in different sizes. The most common hollow profiles are called KKR (in English CFRHS) and VKR (in English HFRHS) and are manufactured in different ways. VKR profiles are hot formed while KKR are cold formed .The different production methods bring different properties. VKR profiles are more suitable for welding and have no embedded stresses unlike KKR profiles. KKR profiles have a better surface finish and are cheaper to produce. KKR profiles are characterized with slightly rounder edges than VKR profiles (“Information hålprofiler”). The span length is constructed to be 11,5 meters, but depending on the truss dimensioning, this could be longer. This is the length the lanes are prefabricated in. At assembly the lane is lifted in on the existing V pillars that are held by support. The pillars are then bolted into the lane and the lane is then welded into the rest of the bridge as well as the electrical wiring needed to connect the two segments. The procedure continuous until the lane is fully assembled, see figure 10.15. The last step of the process is to assemble the noise barriers.

Figure 10.15. Assembly of a lane

10.4 Materials After a material elimination process it was concluded that either painted steel or weathering steel were the best options.

Weathering steel is corrosion efficient and has low maintenance properties. The slightly higher cost is often offset by the lack of maintenance and elimination of paint (“Weathering steel”). However it is most commonly manufactured in sheet arcs which are welded together, finding a supplier of stockpile profiles might prove challenging.

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Painted steel is cheaper than weathering steel but the maintenance cost is higher. It is however easy to find the appropriate hollow profiles for the material.

After a rendering of the both materials it was concluded that painted steel is more suitable to the cityscape. Weathering steel in combination with trusses has too much of an industrial look to fit Stadsgården. Although Stadsgården has an industrial cityscape, there need to be a balance and the truss itself expresses that functionality. The paint has a more modern aesthetics. See figure 10.16 for renderings in both materials.

Figure 10.16. Render comparison of withering steel and painted steel

10.5 Mechanics The construction is a continuous asymmetrical span truss bridge with a varying Howe and Pratt truss constellation. With steel as the chosen material it much prefers tension rather than compression. Having the construction in as much tension as possible will make the profiles thinner. To understand the mechanics of the construction, it is important to understand how Pratt and Howe trusses work. The Pratt truss in the picture, see figure 10.17 has all its diagonal members in tension and its vertical in compression. This is well suitable for steel constructions with preferably concrete or wood for the vertical members. In a Pratt truss the diagonal members generally experience more stress than the vertical ones in an even load scenario. It’s therefore the applicable truss for steel trusses.

Figure 10.17. Illustration of a Pratt truss. Red represents tension and green represents compression

A Howe truss is the opposite of the Pratt truss in diagonal member constellation. This result in diagonal members in compression and the vertical ones in tension, see figure 10.18. The vertical rods are therefore more suitable to be made in steel and the diagonal rods in wood or concrete.

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Figure 10.18. Illustration of a Howe truss. Red represents tension and green represents compression

The V pillars were chosen to ease foundation work and that it inhibits bending moments. Its shape can be used as an advantage. As described previously, a continuous bridge rather than simple span shares its loads among the pillars and the construction, thereby making it stronger, and as a result lighter. The span with an applied force will force the other span to counteract the stresses.

The longer the bridge the more stress is divided and the stronger it becomes. Having asymmetrical pillars that are not spaced evenly will by its own mass, force the longer span downwards which in turn will force the shorter spans upwards, see figure 10.19. The longer spans therefore have a Pratt Truss and the shorter spans have a Howe truss always forcing the diagonal rods into tension. This system requires rotational joints to enable the spans to be interlinked and work continuously.

Figure 10.19. Exaggerated deformation of the truss in a continuous span

Figure 10.20 shows the rods experienced compression and tension. The construction was verified to work as expected through John Leander, researcher and teacher in structural engineering and bridges (Leander 2017).

Figure 10.20. Compression and tension illustration of the sketch (green represents compression and red

tension)

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10.6 Cost Since the bicycle path is constructed as a truss there are a few perks to be had. First it is lightweight for its strength thereby reducing costs in materials. Secondly, unlike other bridges, the beams most often need to be customized to an extra cost. Stockpile beams are cheaper and the truss design enables relatively thin beams that are stockpile goods, thus reducing the cost further. However the drawback is the labour time. A truss bridge has many welding points, and many profiles in need of assemble, thus the construction is labour demanding. The pillars construction will reduce the amount of foundation work needed. The traffic will then be obstructed for a shorter time than larger foundations and thereby reducing the cost.

An epoxy resin surface was chosen as the deck construction. As an example, Epoxyfabriken AB delivers an epoxy EF 300 that is suitable for road use. It has a cost of 200 SEK per kg and one square meter needs approximately 0,4 kg (“Produktblad EF 300”). Regarding the 3,25 meter wide bicycle lane stretching for 1,5 km, this evaluates to approximately 400 000 SEK in material cost for the epoxy.

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11 Discussion and future development

This chapter presents a discussion of the project, and future development

11.1 Discussion The project first focused on Sveavägen as the location since it was regarded as the location with the highest possible outcome. After investigation it was deemed that no solution showed sufficient promise to pursue it. This was mainly due to the logistics of crossings, ramps and numerous of needed access points. It is believed that with modification and further research it might result in a viable solution. This will enable a system to be modular to some extent since most streets have similar architectural appearance as Sveavägen. Stadsgården has a very different architecture since there are no crossings and only one side of the street has street space. On the other side of the road is a rock wall and there is no value in joining the vehicle lanes and rock wall with the potentially buzzing waterway, rather separating that part of the road with the cycling traffic is preferred. This makes for an architectonical landscape that has clear enough differences from the other chosen spots (Södertäljevägen and Sveavägen). The result is therefore a different solution. This fact concludes that a modular solution is difficult to adapt to differing landscapes. There have been propositions to cover the entirety of Stadsgården and build on top of it. This is a very expensive task and is doubtful if it will happen. It would however conflict with the solution of this concept. There has also been a proposition of changing Saltsjöbanan to a cycle track (Boberg 2017) since it has been discussed to shut it down. This proposition is better than the final solution because the tracks and bridges already exist and connects a long distance. It can be discussed if the final solution is more suitable for pedestrians rather than cyclists. This would make the lower lane house both cycling directions. The access points would be easier to construct since they can be shorter staircases instead of long ramps. This would make the spiral ramp obsolete since staircases can replace it, thus saving space. By using the elevated path for pedestrians, the separation from bicycles would fully occur thus eliminating that problem. The current suggestion would require the pedestrians to be re-routed to the waterside to fully separate them from bicycle traffic. This is a major improvement since pedestrians walking in the bicycle lane constituted one of the problems. However, the widening of the bicycle path might still not be wide enough at the lower level for two directional traffic, but the elimination of pedestrians and a slightly wider lane is still a great improvement. The elevated pedestrian lane will result in an increased width for pedestrians to walk at, which can be used to accommodate vegetation, benches or similar functions. This will increase the value and enjoyment for pedestrians at Stadsgården and motivate the elevation pedestrians need to take. With the construction of the final concept, it was evaluated that an elevated bicycle lane could be well fitted at the third location (Södertäljevägen). It is however probable that it needs a different design since the architectonical landscape is different.

The demand of 5 kN/m2 greatly restricts the design possibilities. The forces are exaggerated seeing that heavy snowfall should be the dimensioning load and that is

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calculated as 2 kN/m2. By circumventing this demand, a slimmer more aesthetically appealing concept could be made.

The heavy environmental impact that the construction of the elevated bicycle path creates must be offset by the positive environmental gain increased cycling traffic will have. It should be investigated further to find out how many years it needs to be of service for it to reach a zero impact footprint.

11.2 Future development and delimitations • The elevated bicycle lanes could be combined with different features such as

wind tunnel capabilities, cycle parking, heated floors, vegetation, with more. This could be investigated further.

• Different locations in Stockholm could be investigated further to find more suitable spots for an elevated bicycle lane.

• As access points were the prominent problem in creating a modular solution, this could be researched further. An elevation solution that is space efficient while still being easy to use for bicyclists is a missing puzzle piece in making a modular solution work.

• Most bridges have a slight arch to achieve greater strength and to more easily control stress concentrations. This could also be applicable to the final design.

• The truss system is manufactured with welding. It is common that the rods are connected by bolts instead. It could be investigated further which solution is beneficial.

• The solution is yet to be dimensioned. This should be examined further to determine the dimensions of the rods and the span width. Longer span widths naturally mean larger rods, and there is an efficiency optimum to be found where these two factors interact at their best.

• The mechanics should be verified by simulation to get more precise stress results. Different rods will experience different forces at different load cases. This would lead to individually dimensioned rods at their optimum size.

• The design has not taken thermal expansion into consideration. Stockholm has a climate of shifting temperatures which will result in expansion and retraction of the steel. These expansions can lead to unwanted stresses. Having the bicycle lane fully continuous will result in a longer length of the beams and therefore larger expansions and retractions. By dividing the bicycle lane into smaller continuous sections, the thermal deformation will be smaller and thus the problem is circumvented. A calculation needs to be made to see how many meters a continuous section should be for the optimal structure.

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12 References

Kajmats, Johan. 2017. “Innerstadssnittet cykel”. Trafikkontoret. 8th of January http://miljobarometern.stockholm.se/trafik/cykeltrafik/antal-cykelpassager/ (Accessed 2017-02-01) 2015. ”Artikelserie, del 1, Framkomlighetsstrategin”. Stockholms Stad. 3rd of September http://bygg.stockholm.se/-/Nyheter/Slussen-/artikelserie-del-1-/. (Accessed 2017-02-01) Wallner, Jacques. 2015. ”Kraftig ökning av dödliga cykelolyckor” DN. 1st of April http://www.dn.se/nyheter/sverige/kraftig-okning-av-dodliga-cykelolyckor/ (Accessed 2017-02-01) Torell, Christina. 2015. ”Resvaneundersökningen 2015”. Stockholms läns landsting http://www.sll.se/verksamhet/kollektivtrafik/kollektivtrafiken-vaxer-med-stockholm/Resvaneundersokningen-2015/ (Accessed 2017-02-01) 2011. ”Kopenhavns cykelstrategi 2011-2025”. Kopenhavns Kommune Teknik-og miljoforvaltningen (Accessed 2017-02-01) 2016. “Cykelplan”. Stockholms Stad http://bygg.stockholm.se/Hallbar-stad/Cykelmiljarden/Cykelplan/ (Accessed 2017-02-05) 1997. ”The future of mass transportation”. Sustainable Transport Systems Inc. 1st of November http://www.biketrans.com/ (Accessed 2017-02-07) Nadis, Steve. 1997. “Heavenly Highways for Cyclists” MIT Technology Review. 1st of November https://www.technologyreview.com/s/400132/heavenly-highways-for-cyclists/ (Accessed 2017-02-07) 2010. “Structure”. Ipv Delft https://hovenring.com/structure (Accessed 2017-02-07) 2015. ”Cykelslangen”. D&AD https://www.dandad.org/awards/professional/2015/spatial-design/24307/cykelslangen/ (Accessed 2017-02-07) Hoj, Sandra. 2014. ”Why can’t all cities have bike bridges like Copenhagen’s new Cycle Snake” The Guardian. 14th of July https://www.theguardian.com/cities/2014/jul/14/bike-lanes-bridge-copenhagen-new-cycle-snake-cykelslangen (Accessed 2017-02-07) Thayne, Julia. 2014 “Why the Skycycle would never work”. Arch daily. 23rd of January http://www.archdaily.com/469780/why-the-skycycle-would-never-work (Accessed 2017-02-08) Rosenfeld, Karissa. 2014 “Norman Foster-Designed scheme aims to transform London into “Cycling Utopia””. Arch Daily. 2nd of January http://www.archdaily.com/463363/norman-foster-designed-scheme-aims-to-transform-london-into-cycling-utopia (Accessed 2017-02-08)

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Boberg, Joakim. Trafic planner at Trafikkontoret. Personal contact. 2017 SFS 2007:90. Trafikverket http://www.trafikverket.se/contentassets/1acefe1dc6ea404fbc9e283848c0ca41/utmarkning_forbudsmarken.pdf (Accessed 2017-02-12) De Neef, Matt. 2013. ”Gradients and cycling: an introduction”. The Climbing Cyclist [blog]. 22nd of May http://theclimbingcyclist.com/gradients-and-cycling-an-introduction/ (Accessed 2017-02-14) De Neef, Matt. 2013. ”Gradients and cycling: how much harder are steeper climbs?”. The Climbing Cyclist [blog]. 29th of May http://theclimbingcyclist.com/gradients-and-cycling-how-much-harder-are-steeper-climbs/ (Accessed 2017-02-14) Zenkert, Dan. Professor of lightweight construction at KTH University. Personal contact. 2017 Al-Emrani, Mohammad. Professor and research in steel and timbre structures at Chalmers University. Personal contact. 2017 Leander, John. Researcher and teacher in structural engineering and bridges at KTH University. Personal contact. 2017 ”Bygg/VVS”. Stockholms Helikoptertjänst AB. http://www.shtab.se/tj%C3%A4nster/lyft-och-bygg/bygg-vvs-2026126 (Accessed 2017-03-14) SFS 1998:1276. Trafikförordningen https://transportstyrelsen.se/sv/vagtrafik/Yrkestrafik/Gods-och-buss/Matt-och-vikt/Modulsystem/ (Accessed 2017-03-14) Billington, David P. Shirley-Smith, Hubert. Billington, Philip N. 2012. ”Bridge Engineering”. Encyclopedia Britannica https://www.britannica.com/technology/bridge-engineering, (Accessed 2017-03-16) “Bridge articulation and bearing specification”. Steelconstruction.info http://www.steelconstruction.info/Bridge_articulation_and_bearing_specification (Accessed 2017-04-03) CES Edupack. 2016. version 16.1.22. Granta Design Limited. Software (Accessed 2017-03-06) Hölzel, Christin, Höchtl, Franz, and Senner, Veit. 2012. “Cycling comfort on different road surfaces” Technische Universitaet München http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1877705812016955 (Accessed 2017-04-18)

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“External range”. Resin Surfaces Limited http://www.resinsurfaces.co.uk/products/resin-bound-resin-bonded-systems/ (Accessed 2017-04-26) ”Måttrekommendationer”. Korsholms Trätjänst AB http://www.trappor.fi/m%C3%A5ttrekommendationer (Accessed 2017-02-24) ”Information hålprofiler”. BE group http://www.begroup.com/sv/BE-Group-sverige/Produkter/Stal_ror/Produktinformation/Produktinformation-halprofiler-VKRKKR/ (Accessed 2017-05-12) ”Weathering steel”. Steelconstruction.info http://www.steelconstruction.info/Weathering_steel (Accessed 2017-05-12) Andeberg, Kjell. 2017. “Produktblad EF 300”. Epoxyfabriken AB http://www.epoxyfabriken.se/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/pb_ef300.pdf (Accessed 2017-05-15) 2012. “The floating garden”. Archilovers http://www.archilovers.com/projects/114259/the-floating-gardens.html (Accessed 2017-02-08) O’Sullivan, Feargus. 2015. “Bike paths in abandoned tube tunnels: is the London Underline serious?”. The Guardian. 5th of February https://www.theguardian.com/cities/2015/feb/05/bike-paths-abandoned-tube-tunnels-london-underline (Accessed 2017-02-08) Carlisle, Peter. 2016. “The Bangkok Skyride and Skypark”. Thailand Construction. 15th of September http://www.thailand-construction.com/the-bangkok-skyride-and-skypark/ (Accessed 2017-02-08)

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Appendix 1 Pre Study, Elevated bicycle lanes This appendix shows different elevated bicycle lanes in the world and a short analysis/summary of them. All of the bicycle lanes are concepts.

Floating gardens – Kuwait Made by MAKH Group architect firm in Kuwait (“The floating garden” 2012). It is a pedestrian walk way proposition constructed along the existing Fahad al Salem Street in Kuwait, see figure 1 and 2. The proposition is made in order to reinvent a deteriorating street and make it more accessible and enjoyable for pedestrians. The design is made such that the construction will not hinder the traffic flow of vehicles while under construction.

Figure 1. Floating garden, under construction

Figure 2. Floating gardens finnished

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London Underline – London The London Underline is a proposal that repurposes the London subway tunnels that are not in use (O’Sullivan 2015). These tunnels will be rebuilt into cyclist and pedestrian tracks, see figure 3. It will include retail spaces and cultural exhibitions. The proposal won the London planning awards for 2015.

Figure 3. The London Underline

Skyride – Bangkok The Skyride in Bangkok is an elevated bicycle path that is accompanied by a pedestrian walk way named Skypark and a market/park named the Lowline (Carlisle 2016). The proposal is developed by Marques and Jordy design firm. The Skyride is 55 km long stretching central Bangkok using the existing infrastructure of the railway, see figure 4 and 5. It is 3,5 meters wide housing bicycle traffic in both directions.

Figure 4. The skyride as seen from above

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Figure 5. The skyride as seen from the street.

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Appendix 2 Survey summary and analysis This appendix will summarize the survey made. It had a total of 92 respondents.

Summary of the survey • 71,7 % of the respondents are men • 70 % of the respondents are aged between 31-50 • The respondents are for the most part not interested in electric bikes, only 5,4

percent use it and 9,8 percent want to use it • Almost all the respondents cycle all year around, winter is not a problem • The respondents are experienced cyclists, they cycle often (5 times per week)

and long stretches (53,3 percent cycle more than 12 km per day) • Conflicts with cars are the most recognized problem, after that conflicts with

pedestrians and cars parked in the bicycle lanes and narrow bicycle lanes. This suggests that separation of the bicycle lane is important. Less important was car doors that open in the bicycle lane, unclear road signs and directions, stopping and starting, and interaction with other cyclists.

• When the respondents chose their second most recognized problem the answers were a bit more evenly divided. Narrow cycling lanes was the most important problem, after that conflicts with cars. Car doors opening in the bicycle lane and interaction with other cyclist was continued low.

• Approximately 48 per cent of the respondents had been in accidents. Some in multiple accidents.

The table below shows the answers to the question, what is the biggest problem as a Stockholm cyclist, see table 1.

Table 1. The most important mentioned problem

Problem Respondents

To cycle too close to cars and heavy traffic 30

Bicycle paths are too narrow 18

To cycle too close to pedestrians 18

Cars are parked in the bicycle paths 12

Unclear signs and directions 7

Stopping and starting 4

Car doors unexpectedly opening in the bicycle paths 2

To coexist with other cyclists 1

The table below shows the answers to the question, what is the second biggest problem as a Stockholm cyclist, see table 2.

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Table 2. The second most mentioned problem

Problem Respondents

Bicycle paths are too narrow 24

To cycle too close to cars and heavy traffic 19

Unclear signs and directions 12

To cycle too close to pedestrians 11

Stopping and starting 11

Cars are parked in the bicycle paths 9

Car doors unexpectedly opening in the bicycle paths 4

To coexist with other cyclists 2

Judging from the result, the most important aspect is to separate the bicycle paths from other modes of transportation, especially cars and heavy traffic and also to keep the cycle paths wide enough. This will eliminate the top problems people feel most strongly about.

Worst bicycle places in Stockholm The respondents got the opportunity to mention spots in Stockholm, which they thought were particularly bad and why. Many places where mentioned several times by different people, see table 3.

Table 3. Most frequently mentioned bad locations

Location Number of complaints

Slussen 9

Långholmsgatan/Hornstull 6

Vasagatan 5

Sveavägen 5

Torsgatan 4

Götgatan/Götgatsbacken 4

Stadsgården 4

Arsenalgatan 4

Slussen: Slussen had 9 complaints.

Slussen will not be regarded as a problem area since it is under construction and it will be rebuilt in the future

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Långholmsgatan/Hornstull 6 complaints. Some parts of it are under construction at the moment and might be cause for some of the complaints since it requires cyclists to be re-routed into the car lanes.

Vasagatan 5 complaints

Especially Vasagatan/Tegelbacken was described as bad. And the distance from Vasagatan to Slussen as a bad bicycle path. This path is called Munkbroleden

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Appendix 3 Video research and analysis This appendix will present the findings when cycling through Stockholm with a go Pro camera strapped to the bicycle. It will explain the encountered problems as they were found during the cycling trip.

Cycling 1 of March 2017 Hornsgatan Hornsgatan was ridden from Hornstull to Slussen. The bicycle path coincides most of the time with the car traffic. At many times the bicycle lane is too narrow, especially the stretch from Mariatorget to Slussen. It has bicycle markings almost all the way through but they are not bright and clear and often worn down. This is a trafficked street meaning there is a lot of traffic to consider as a bicyclist. Pedestrians are not a problem here. There are many busses going on this street with many bus stops. At those times you are brought from the bicycle lane in the middle of the street to pass the bus stop. If there is a bus at that point you are even pushed by the bus to go into the left most car lane. These bicycle lanes in the middle of the street also occur in intersections as cars need to be able to turn left and right, as well as cyclists. Having the cycle lanes like this makes your need to focus behind you as well as making sure you cycle perfectly straight.

Vasagatan Vasagatan was ridden back and forth from Tegelbacken to Norra bantorget. It is even more trafficked than Hornsgatan and has a lot more pedestrian encounters. The cycle lane however has more places when it coincides with the sidewalk rather than the road. However this is not always nicer since pedestrians become an issue walking out in the middle of the cycling lane, both because they claim that space but also to be able to cross the road. The bicycle path here has the same problems as Hornsgatan but is probably even worse since there is more traffic. Tegelbacken, had unclear markings. One needed to be guided through 3 crossing in order to be back on the cycle path, which is very tedious.

Norra bantorget Norra bantorget had some strange bicycle paths, probably the worst bicycle paths of the whole journey. There were no markings when to turn left and right at two occasions as well as it coincides with the car traffic in a very emerging way. Luckily there wasn’t much car traffic at the time.

Skeppsbron Skeppsbron was a mentioned problem, especially for the amount of tourists walking into the bicycle lane. The lane itself is pleasant to cycle on and there weren’t many people out so I didn’t encounter the problem, but I know from previous experience that it can be problematic.

Slussen Slussen, which received the most complaints, did not live up to that expectation but that was due to the weather. One clear problem was all of the pedestrians walking in

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the middle of the cycle lane. This happened on several occasions during a very small stretch. Due to the weather, there weren’t many people out but if there would have been this stretch would have been very problematic.

Stadsgården Stadsgården is a long stretch which is heavily trafficked by bicycles and pedestrians. At the time ridden this problem was however not encountered, there were some cyclists but not enough to consider it a problem, this is due to both the season and the weather. Bicycles cycle at different speed and require overtakings but the bicycle path is narrow. There is no separation of pedestrians and bicycles which makes pedestrians walk into the bicycle lane.

Arsenalgatan Arsenalgatan did not live up to its expectations, there were unclear cycle path marking and people walking in the middle of the cycle path, but since it is a walking street there is a lot of space to cycle on. Pedestrians are definitely a problem here and you will have to take a slow ride through them. However, it did not feel unsafe.

Strömbron Strömbron was not a problem at all, I was expecting the bicycle path to suddenly end and then becoming very narrow but that did not happen.

Cycling 2 of March 2017 Munkbroleden Munkbroleden was a comfortable ride. Not much bike or pedestrian traffic at this moment. It takes one sudden sharp turn, which could be bad in high traffic. At some points the bicycle lane is very narrow where meeting traffic would be a big problem. I can see this bicycle path as a big problem at high traffic and very dangerous.

Sveavägen Sveavägen is one of those highly trafficked streets with people running a lot of errands. Some parts have bicycle paths on the sidewalk that eventually leads down to the road. No matter if you are on the sidewalk or on the road, the risk of car doors suddenly opening is high since many people run errands on this street. Most of the sidewalk is parking prohibited but not stop prohibited.

Årsta station When riding down the hill to the station there are a lot of pedestrians that are about to take the tram, they stand in the middle of the cycle path making it an anxious passage. Then there is a traffic light forcing one to stop anyway. The best would have been to keep the momentum generated from the hill and ride past this problem.

Södertäljevägen Södertäljevägen is a long stretch which has a separate bicycle lane from car traffic; it is wide and nice to cycle. At Hägerstensvägen there is a long detour which requires one to cycle up the road to later get to a crossing and cycle back which was irritating. The road is situated in a constant uphill. Other than the detour, the road pose no particular problem.

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Valhallavägen Odengatan intersection This intersection is particularly bad. You have to coincide with busses forcing you out between two lanes. Then if you need to turn to the right you will have to cycle into the alley having to be careful about traffic behind you and the pedestrians waiting to cross the intersection. If you need to turn left you either pass into the middle of the crossing paying extra attention to the traffic behind you but I don’t think this is how it is meant to be, the intention might be to drive in between the bus and the car lane putting you in a very uncomfortable spot. There are no markings or signs telling where the road is. This is a very confusing and dangerous traffic situation. And the intention is not to walk the bike over the crossing since there is a bicycle lane at Odengatan.

Götgatan Götgatan is not that bad at all considering it being such a trafficked street. The bicycle lanes are wide and coincide with the road. However there are fence like protection separating cyclists from car traffic and pedestrians have the sidewalk one level up therefore not coinciding with the bicycles. Götgatan had mixed reviews, many people described it as bad but many also described it as very good.

Götgatan’s degree of separation from pedestrians and car traffic is great and also the separation from busses. The bicycle lanes go behind the bus stops separating the bus to cycle traffic.

Seen from statistics over the past couple of years Götgatan is the most dangerous street in all of Stockholm, but this was before they put up the fences and led the bicycle path down on the street.

It is possible the bad part that was referred to is Götgatsbacken, which has many pedestrians in the middle of the street. This section is very problematic since pedestrians cross the street freely not considering bicyclists. It did not feel unsafe but was irritating to circumvent the pedestrians.

Conclusions

• The mentioned pedestrian problem did not occur that much since there weren’t many people out on the streets.

• Hornsgatan, which had not been mentioned by previous research was discovered and identified as a problem.

• Whether certain problems are encountered depends a lot on time, the season, the weather and other conditions.

• The most specific problems that were encountered several times was confusion with the marking on the road and which path to take, pedestrians in the middle of the bicycle path and that the bicycle path goes out in the middle of two car lanes.

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Appendix 4 Discarded concepts

This appendix shows different concepts that went unused.

Mould The Mould concept, see figure 1, is made from moulded concrete and comes in a variety of modules. By connecting several modules the system can be turning and adapt to the environment. The concrete is moulded with pretensioned wires that subject it to constant compression. The downside with this concept is that it becomes heavy.

Figur 1. simple CAD model of the mould concept

Modules The Modules concept, see figure 3 and 4, is made from different modules. The sections are made in straight or turning modules, which can be put together to fit the environment. In each end of the modules are flanges that are either bolted or welded together. This concept is similar to Mould but made from steel or fibre reinforced plastics instead of pretensioned concrete.

Figure 2. Modules concept as seen from above

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Figur 3. The model consist of 2 straights and 2 turns put together

Cantilever A cantilever system holds the deck into place on both sides of the pillar. A short self-carrying suspension span will be placed between the cantilever spans that can be used as access points. The cantilevers use a method where the lower levers are in compression and the upper levers are in tension. The levers are then connected by wires to the deck and thus carrying its load. This will enable for long spans with less used materials since the beams in the deck can be dimensioned for smaller loads. This will result in a lower height of the deck and thereby making it closer to the ground. This system is expected to be somewhat complex to manufacture. See figure 4 and 5 for the Cantilever concept.

Figur 4. A simple CAD sketch up of the cantilever design

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Figure 5. Sketch of the cantilever construction.

Pipe The Pipe concept, see figure 8, works on the same principle as the beam concept. The difference is a pipe as the load-bearing beam. The functional advantage is that the cantilever beams can be tilted thus slightly tilting the lane in curves. This will result in slightly better road performance for bicyclists.

Figur 8. Rendering of the Pipe concept

Spine The Spine concepts basic idea is free rotation of the different modules. This system is the most modular of all and can easily be adapted to its surroundings, see figure 9 and 10. It is

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however expected to not be as structurally sound in comparison to its weight in relation to other concepts. The modules will likely be expensive to manufacture.

Figur 9. Two different principles on the free rotating spine concept

Figure 10. Principle sketch of the spine concept

Arch The Arch concept, see figure 11 and 12, is based on two arches leaning against each other that use their innate ability to resist movement, see figure 13. The result is a lightweight and stiff construction, which will enable long spans.

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By using the radial form of the arc, they naturally enables turning, this can be used as an advantage.

A downside with this construction is that decking becomes difficult and that the geometrical complexness might make it complex to adjust to the surroundings.

The foremost downside with this concept is that the structural integrity increases as the height of the arc increases. This automatically leads to a higher deck.

Figur 11. CAD model of the arch concept

Figur 12. CAD model of the arch concept turning.

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Figure 13. Prototype of the arch

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Appendix 5 Access points for Sveavägen This appendix presents the different ides on how to access the elevated bicycle lane for a two way lane placed in the middle of the street. The graphics are modelled after the intersection of Sveavägen and Odengatan.

These entries and exits are can be seen as any form of elevation, such as ramps, staircases, elevators etc. The concepts focus on where the entries and exit occur, both at the street and at the bicycle lane. It does not particularly take into consideration ramp lengths and space efficiency. The important aspects to consider are: how complicated they are to access, how difficult the interactions between other cyclists are, and how bulky the access points become (amount of structures).

The idea seen in figure 1, has entries and exits that go to the traffic island at the crossings. The solution might infringe on the car lanes below. This concept is among the least bulky solution. It will require two directional passing in the ramps. The island has a similar difficulty level for cyclists to access from all different directions, which is a positive aspect. It is however difficult to access for all bicyclists since it requires crossing the street.

Figure 1. Double access at the traffic islands

The concept seen in figure 3 has access points crossing the lane. It will particularly ease cyclists coming from the cross street, but will be extra difficult to access at the main street.

The concept will make it hard to make a right turn on normal street level since the ramp is in the way. The concept allows for crossing the street at the elevated bicycle lane, which will ease bicyclists crossing the street. It is doubtful however that bicyclist will appreciate doing the 4,5 meter climb just to cross the street, even if it means no stopping at red lights or car interactions. This idea was therefore disregarded.

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Figure 3. Cross street access points

The concept seen in figure 4 is the opposite of the one above. It is easy to access at the main street but difficult to access from the cross street.

A cyclist will not need to drive backwards in order to get to the ramp if coming from a cross-street since there is another access point at the next block. By cycling at the street level one block, they can get up to the elevated bicycle lane at the next access point.

Figure 4. Main street access points

The concept seen in figure 5 is the inverted concept of that in figure 4. This concept could be seen as an improvement since it can be directly accessed or exited at the cross street. It is both easier to exit the elevated bicycle lane and easier to access it.

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Figure 5. Inverted main street access points

The concept seen in figure 6 is easy to access both on the cross street or the main street. It will however be difficult to create a ramp solution that will allow that short of a distance and clear the traffic height. This solution must therefore be made with stairs or elevators or concept of the like.

Figure 6. Intersection access points

Figure 7 illustrates the same idea as figure 6 but with a roundabout. The upside is that the roundabout will make an easier interaction between other cyclists on the lane. It is however a bit more bulky and also won’t allow ramps due to the short distances.

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Figure 7. Intersection access points with roundabout

From the argumentation done above, it was considered that the concepts shown in figure 1 and figure 5 house the greatest potential. The proposition in figure 5 presents the greatest ease of use and logistics for bicyclists, while the concept in figure 1 is the least bulky proposition while still presenting good accessibility.

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Appendix 6 Pictures of Stadsgården The pictures are presented in sequential order along the road (from Slussen to Danvikstull)

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3

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5